Apologies for length for anyone with the willingness and time to read! ]
@MyNewtBoobs Believing/realizing that many of us could live better ‘in the wild’ than we’d suspect given the right conditions (including our own willing attitudes & thinking), in no way requires a prejudice against the lifestyle most of us probably share. Sure, it’s common for us to encounter the belief that technology and being outdoors are polar opposites always in conflict, & but we seem agreed that this isn’t universally true and limits thinking about lifestyles & the world. @lillycoyote said very well & validly that it does require the infrastructure our industrial society has – for better or worse – to provide the fresh-made espresso some of us need to really enjoy camping. Both are true, but that may mean some readjusting of perspective regarding “nature’ as well. Assumedly we were all raised to be skeptical about being able to survive in not just a different lifestyle, but one that would require massive shifts in our modes of being & operating in order to subsist – and perhaps moreso for some of us if we wanted a chance to be happy in something we weren’t raised to have any faith in, or even consider seriously.
My apologies if the following assumptions were incorrect, or I should have thought to verify such in my initial writings; It seemed understood to most that, under any conditions it can be suddenly difficult merely to survive, most especially in situations a) we’re not well-socialized and prepared for and b) ones that don’t have things we’re blessed to have access to like antibiotics (for those with health insurance or even who live near a hospital who won’t refuse them if it would save a life). [Even people who somehow enjoy washing dishes would still probably sometimes love to have a dishwasher now & then, & a dishwasher that would work in ‘primitive’ conditions probably won’t be invented (or even sell well if it were), & no one’s arguing against enjoying dishwashers or abundant hot showers or especially the internet, heaven-forbid! :) ]
I also assumed that we all had some inkling that a very understandable & uber-common reaction towards anything both risky and outside our current comfort zones is one of avoidance; sometimes that reaction can be the sum total of our thoughts/feelings about a huge subject, for purely well-founded reasons. Yet other times, even valid reasons ‘against’ can also serve to ‘hide’ a potential piece, however large or small, of something (a temporary trivial novelty to a whole life’s work and calling) that could make us happier. In a thoughtful community like this, where many perspectives are regularly discussed, some involving relatively personal stuff which we may understandably be prone to disagreements over, I hoped that it made sense for some there to be some vague, shared respect for every individual to be the final authority on what’s best for them given their abilities, circumstance and goals; in operation, meaning there’s a slim possibility that once in a while someone considers major changes in a way that’s influenced by something another proposed or meaning that sometimes people steer away from certain subjects so as not to risk anyone shoving advice or closed philosophies, however wonderful or well-intended, down anyone’s throat (if such is even tolerated here, which I suspect isn’t) when we’re know it’s not relevant to us or is just not what we feel an obligation to listen to. We’re all autonomous people capable of solid, integrated thinking, and no one, even the most groundbreaking geniuses have the ability or right to ultimately decide the best way for us to spend whatever time, energy & abilities we’re blessed to have. [And Socrates is not around to be giving his 2 cents about our business, anyhow!] If anyone (myself included) did or does act dismissive of your life’s path, most especially when it’s the healthiest & happiest for you under present conditions, you have _every entitlement to assert your right for to (ethical) self-determination to be respected._
Your lifestyle is probably far more widely respected and appreciated than I can reasonably expect mine to be, in all honesty. And far more serious opposition to my own course could so easily come from any number of unforseen factors. Just deciding to make such a major change required much enthusiasm I never knew I had, & quite frankly a more mellow form of that will be needed in order just to have a shot at secure survival and happiness. My typical, solid lack of interest in being outside, not a problem then, does make things a bit more tricky now, and the idea of me living as I’m planning to would’ve struck me as sorta crazy. And clearly, my life conditions oddly turned out to be unusually well-suited for these changes to be feasible and positive enough that I can let them alter almost everything I’ve known. It’d be stupid to base major decisions off the assumption that my current enthusiasm is static & somehow immune to change – for better or worse – from whatever it is I’ll be grappling with. It’s plenty potentially risking my own future wellbeing on living under uncertain & definitely awkward conditions… nevermind even encouraging anyone else to make the same changes on anything but their own, well-considered terms. And quite frankly, I’d be asking for disillusion at best both to blindly idealize nature as much as you thought I did and to be throwing myself at the mercy of who knows what just nature and more human-related processes (both notoriously unpredictable and complex) could bring me.
Yet, we can deeply appreciate without idealizing. I could even argue that the deepest appreciation is impossible without realistically assessing flaws & risks. Also, from time to time our lives can be broadened by discussing & considering possibilities we probably never would if left to our own devices. Occasionally, throughout my whole life I’d hear mention of all this ‘nature’ stuff yet most often would dismiss it, or not even bother with taking any notice. Or, I’d take a moment to respect someone else’s interests, sometimes vaguely wishing I could find that same enjoyment in something of my own chosing, or even being super firm in insisting, to myself and others, that it’s not. for. me. And whatever those past reactions meant, I’m not letting them limit me, even just by spending energy judging them either way. It’s not always easy, but it is valid to recognize how, in a multitude of ways that our conditions can shift, and seemingly immutable aspects of ourselves we take for granted can shift around with those changes – or on their own. (Sure, my age group is known in this culture for its propensity towards shifting, unsettled conditions and exploring all sorts of things, but life and our economy can also bring about the same effects to anyone of any age or disposition) Personally, I find it helpful to have at least a vague abstract awareness that our most authentic self is more than what current conditions shows ‘us’ to be. It’s quite easy to be paralyzed in the face of serious, precarious life-developments, especially if we’ve convinced ourselves we have no hope for anything worthwhile unless specific conditions are ‘right’, and that paralysis can mean the difference between getting by and doing better with a crisis than we had before it. (Yes, of course some conditions do drastically increase our odds of survival.) But beyond hopefully unlikely crisies, the more we allow even for the hypothetical possibility of being ok in conditions we can’t predict and wouldn’t chose, the more likely many of us are to thrive unexpectedly with the more normal changes that go along with the conditions we do chose! This thinking certainly could not be forced down my throat, and thankfully no one really tried. It’s something that, if anyone choses to adopt, will only really work best if & when their conditions are right. Like many things we could bring into our lives, it can’t reach its potential full if it’s not developed it to suit your own needs, outlook and current conditions. Forcing (on ourselves or otherse) could help, but it easily can cause more hassle than it’s worth. {Hence self-determination, yet again!}
The gist behind my writing was actually aimed primarily at anyone who might’ve been open to just considering any ideas or potentials I happen to currently be admittedly enthusiastic about. Rather than expect others would even go so far as to plan a one-day camping trip just because I (of all people) talked too much about living happily outdoors, I merely hoped that a few people might think a slightly different thought about themselves or nature or society or whatever. Further, it’s only reasonable to assume, if a single thought were altered, it would likely take place within the context of a electrified living situation (assumedly where any outdoor activities are probably heavily dependent upon & more enjoyable because of the fruits of industrial process that may well seem objectionable from the viewpoint of nature “worship” or just ecological logic, & I’m not going to spend any energy right now judging or thinking about that). It’d be lovely if everyone’s lives happened to be so satisfying as to be beyond any improvement I can possibly hope to have anything to affect, I hope that’s so! If it’s not, and everyone’s lifes are sadly not optimal yet can’t currently be enriched at all by anything I have to offer, that’s fine, too – especially if what-/whom-ever people in said conditions are exposed to have a greater chance of helping with any difficulties or just lack of satisfaction anyone’s dealing with!
P.S. I’m sorry if any enthusiasm in me, my writing or thinking seemed somehow offensive or just a time-waste for you, & especially if it’s way too long to read. It’s been rightly pointed out that, especially with new or unusual ideas, people can be so enthusiastic it can be a flaw (at least in writing style) just in order to express their ideas in a way that has a chance of breaking through any attitudes (cultural, ideological, personal) which might needlessly prevent people otherwise willingly receptive from considering it. (In fact, perhaps the pedantry of academic writing serves as a counterbalance to the excesses of that tendency? Who knows.) We may not ever even think about it, but if you look, there is in fact an underlying current in our culture (especially non-rural culture, apparently) encouraging fear and skepticism over stuff our ancestors have been surviving with for longer than recorded history. In fact, recorded history was probably more different than “pre”-history than we’ll ever know… and so much of what we value of our lifestyles is possible from the remarkable ingenuity of our ancestors. (Because of the unfathomably long duration of whatever conditions were common before agriculture/other major technology & the nature of evolution, it’s not entirely unreasonable that we each have some untapped capacity towards raw survival or even living much better than subsistence – even the most happily sedentary & homebodied and proudly ‘civilized’ of us. [Even despite a decent abstract awareness of the other bias we all tend to display for what we know (especially what we’re perfectly fine with) and against what we don’t (especially untested), the most thoughtful of us has the potential to eventually be limited (majorly or trivally) by this very bias, & it’d be a waste of energy to be ashamed over instead of correcting if & how they wish. And it’s not my or anyone’s place to determine what others attitudes & reactions should be towards ubiquitous biases and not-always applicable assumptions that harm only the individual displaying them.]
