Is there something in our DNA that is most self-actualized when we are hunting? And if so, what is it? I would argue that there are few activities on this planet that cause the human being to enter the “present moment” with more force and completeness than in that moment of truth just before we take an animal’s life. And hunting is more than that--there’s something spiritual in the harvest of an animal’s flesh and bone so that we may live--and not only live but so that we may thrive. Discomfort; frozen hands and feet, sleeping on the ground, hiking countless miles, denying the negative voices in your head, schooling your adrenaline, overcoming doubts, honing weapons skills; feeling nature--reading animal behavior; predicting the wind--being both predator and prey at the same time; these things awaken ethereal human senses that all-too-often lay dormant in the heart of the modern man. If these things are true, one-dimensional statements like, “I hunt for meat,” do not even scratch the surface for why we do what we do.
Our message needs to evolve; because it’s deep than what we’ve been saying. Today, I visit with my friend, Adam Janke, from The Journal Of Mountain Hunting. It’s always a pleasure to visit with Adam because he’s continually challenging my ideas and preconceived notions. I hope this episode gets you thinking about why you hunt and how you share your story--because everybody has one and how it’s told can make all the difference.