Transitions

I am coming to the realization of the amount of change and mental conditioning I must overcome to enjoy my newly aspired to lifestyle. I am finding myself more and more isolated these days and am having to rely upon myself more for things I used to look outwardly for.

One of the things I have struggled with the past few days during my solitude is the need to keep busy or to constantly occupy my mind. It is hard to just sit still, be quiet, and observe nature. I feel I must constantly have some kind of noise (like a radio) or a task going on (like a video game or book).

Case in point: this afternoon was a wonderfully stormy afternoon with heavy rain. I unplugged everything and turned it off due to the very dangerous lightning we were experiencing. I found myself in my quiet den with nothing other to do than just sit still and listen in the waning light of the afternoon. I kept wanting to reach for a book; anything to not have to deal with my thoughts and the silence. I will have to work on this.

I also spent a long time this morning looking for books or field guides on wild edible plants of the southeast. It was a frustrating search through countless and myriad “survivalist” advertisements and commercial web pages touting expensive books. Maybe my best bet is to hit the library at a local university. What should be common knowledge passed down by each generation has been lost and you now have to pay a premium to learn via special survival schools and survival gurus.