We begin our journey
with an observation from Pulitzer Prize winning Harvard microbiologist, Dr.
Rene Dubos.
“The history of
man…is a long saga of difficulties overcome, of emergencies that had to be met
in order to avoid destruction. Dangers, real or imaginary, and fear of the
unknown used to be part of everyday life, but the unexpected also contributed an
atmosphere of adventure and expectancy—the type of exhilaration that helps man
to free himself from bondage to matter and reach for the stars. Accumulation of
earthly goods does not make up for this exhilaration, without which the zest
for life is readily lost. The indifferent and the outwardly satisfied are less
likely to retain happiness and mental sanity than are those who sacrifice well-being
and comfort for the sake of ideals or illusions.”—Mirage of Health
Hardships overcome,
dangers faced, fears conquered, or at least, tempted. Again and again the
scientific literature redounds with this being the formula for a happy
fulfilling life.
A Female Adventurer
Throws Shade
At the turn of the
last century, intrepid female explorer Elta Close on her fellow females who
tell her, “Oh, I’d love to do what you do but…”
BTW-Her venom is for
all who sit under the shade-tree of excuses and, “If only’s…”
“Looking with a disinterested spinster eye on
the world, I notice that even when women have the health and the money to be
free, they seem to like the feeling of being anchored…for those who do not
marry a man seem inevitably to marry themselves to a garden, or a house, or a
dog, and then having forged their own chains say pathetically, “If only I were
free, how I would love to travel and see the world.” In the year of our Lord
1922, I was free, and I realized it.”
A Warrior Path
Out
Let us return to Dr.
Dubos and his offering of a possible remedy for those of us who simply love our
day-to-day luxuries [and I do at that.]
“…the more
civilization increases in complexity and the more it compels its members to
become specialized, the more it is necessary to maintain a certain number of
human activities in a primitive, unorganized state. In a wise society, leisure
and holidays—instead of becoming stereotyped as they presently are [i.e., touristified,
scheduled, pre-packaged] should play a role similar to that of national parks
and wildlife reservations, where plants and animals retain some chance to
practice the mechanisms which have permitted evolutionary adaptation.”
Those of
us engaged in low-grade “stress” office/retail/risk-free occupations are best
served by periods of “wild” blowout, active vacations, risky holidays, risqué
weekend endeavors to give full play to our humanity.
Those occupied in
real-world life-and-death endeavors [LE, FOB military personnel, etc.] are the ones
best served by the stereotypical rest and relaxation: cruise ship timetable
living, vegging in front of the TV, toes in the sand, that the risk-free “require”
to “recharge” after a “stressful” day of not risking their lives.
[It is interesting to
note, that these very skin-in-the-game vocations—military/firefighters and the
like-- are the ones most often attracted to riskier avocations in their
downtime. They seem to intuitively recognize that the human animal not only
craves scalable risk, but it also thrives upon it.]
Depression rates
plummet and happiness and subjective well-being increases when the human animal
is “tested.” [See Sebastian Junger’s Tribe for a book-length treatise on
the “We can be at our best when times are worst” premise.]
Observation
from a Vietnam Veteran
Dr. John A. Parrish
served with the 3rd Marine Division from 1968-69.
“Life was much
different in the bush. I lived with my corpsman and with the marines instead of
with other doctors. Marines did not seem to get sick as much in the front lines
as in the rear.”
Marines, nobody’s idea
of softies, can be comparatively “soft” when not exposed to soul-testing. Dr.
Parrish noted more “sickness” in relative safety.
How much more so for
we with no threat of “Incoming!”?
What persistent complaint
might we safe-ones “cure” with a little risk?
This is not an
argument for war. Nor is it a plea for all to tackle El Capitan.
It is a finger pointing
to the science and moral tales offered from “those in the know” that many of
our First World mind/body/spirit “problems” might best be rectified not with First
World luxury, but with a bit of time in a self-selected “Wild Game Preserves
for the Human Spirit.”
Dear Ma
and Pa
This topic is inexhaustible
but let us close with a line from a letter from a young cowboy to family back home.
“Easy livin’ makes
you soft. The soft don’t take chances but still bruise mighty easily simply
because they’re soft and get softer every day. The Hard are harder to bruise,
and whatever bruises they get, they damn sure have a story behind ‘em.”
May you have a helluva life full of fun, a bit
of risk, and a vivacious dash of derring-do!
[Excerpted from the upcoming book “The Frontier Stoic: Life Lessonsfrom Folks Who Lived a Life.”]
For techniques, tactics, and strategies of Rough and Tumble Combat,
Old-School Boxing, Mean-Ass Wrestling, Street-Ready Frontier Scrapping &
Indigenous Ability culled from the historical record see the RAW Subscription
Service. http://www.extremeselfprotection.com
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