Some days I feel completely overwhelmed with the outdoor world.
There are so many "new and improved" things that pop into the market every. single. day. It could be just me, and maybe I am just easily distracted or have a terrible attention span... both are probably true, but I'd like to think I'm not the only one.
I find myself wanting to try the newest gadget or backpack or headlamp, or to buy the newest pair of shoes... the list goes on and on. And I think it forever will. I always have to come back to the fact that people enjoyed the outdoors just like us for hundreds of years before all the fancy gear we have now. And while I truly believe that a lot of those things help us enjoy nature more, I have to remind myself constantly that it's just about the stuff...
I want so desperately to live a minimal life, and with a little girl on the way, I want to teach her to live minimally. That she doesn't need lots of "stuff" to enjoy being outside.
Part of the reason I choose to backpack and hike in minimal footwear is because it's just simpler. Less junk to get in the way of me feeling my surroundings. I feel more connected. I've lightened my gear enough that I feel like I can travel lots of miles without feel "weighed down".
This is definitely not a post of complaint or "oh feel bad for me", but rather just a window into my own life and world. I struggle with materialism, and don't want to. I want to live with as little as possible. Maybe your different? Maybe not? Either way is fine.
I chose the cover picture for this post because looking at it gives me peace... my wife and two dogs watching a beautiful sunset. It's something so simple, yet so enjoyable. It reminds me that the simplest and most enjoyable things in life don't have to cost money, and some of the most amazing adventures don't require the fanciest, most high-tech gear... sometimes just being with the people you love and taking in the creation around you makes it all worth it...
Sometimes I have to remind myself to just slow down, simplify, and enjoy where I'm at...
Comments
Great post.
I have found in the past that the less time that I spent in the outdoors, the more I obsess about gear. Probably because when I am not outdoors, the only thing I can do stir my outdoor passions is think about and buy the gear I will use the next time I will go. That is probably why outdoors forums and blogs have so much talk about material things.
A solution for me has been to channel that energy into something productive instead. In the past, I played around with making alcohol stoves, or tried my hand an making/sewing new things. Now days most of that energy goes into Outsidways.
Excellent idea on the alcohol stoves and sewing! I'd rather spend my time being "productive" if I can't be outside. :)
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