& lets encourage all of those cuaght in the web of a meaningless self absorbed advertising fad to sacrifice the vile myspaces - bad mo jo. Step outside and say hi to someone. Much more gratifying than a dumb click. Which is what I’m about to do… on a button which reads SUBMIT…………………….

Is it possible to give up the poor reasons you want to be a celebrity without actually actively cutting yourself off from the possibility? Why not do what you want and let the people decide!? Maybe it is enough even to simply recognize those reasons are there? After all nobody’s perfect. I’m not saying that you should spend all of your time trying to be a celebrity and talk to strangers if you would rather talk to your friends and family. But if it brings you a little bit of happiness to write your blog or teach a class or get an acticle in the paper, why not? If you find that getting rid of your phone and myspace and the sunday school makes you happy go for it, but if it’s something that makes you feel grave and you sorta have to force yourself to do it maybe you should think twice. Promise you won’t get too serious on us!

There will always be charismatic leaders, alpha males and females. People are social animals. It’s okay to want to be popular. Civilization just makes it easier to be really, really, popular and to spend all your time on machines rather than interacting with real people.

While I don’t disagree with there being leaders and followers, I think they are equally dangerous positions. People like Tom Brown Jr., charasmatic alpha leaders, because of their power have a tendency to get conceited, cocky, and even abusive. Followers meanwhile have the tendency to completely give up common sense and believe every word their guru of choice says. I respect Tom Brown, but sometimes he is wrong. OF COURSE he is. This isn’t good or bad, it’s just normal. So teachers don’t have to stop teaching and students don’t have to stop learning, but each side should be aware of these dangers.

If you truly sacrifice time with friends and family that is one thing, but some of us (who still live with our parents) have quite a bit more time with our families than we would prefer. Also some of us do not have friends and family who appreciate our skills or have any interest in learning them. They may actively discourage us and call us crazy if they knew exactly what we were up to and how we felt about civilization. You are lucky to have friends in Portland that support you. Maybe you SHOULD spend more time with them!

I use the internet not to seek celebrity but I do use it to meet people and stay connected. I’ve met at least 4 people on myspace that I later met in person. One is now my boyfriend and we are going on a winter survival camping trip next week, so sometimes these things work out. How do you know someone at your Sunday School wouldn’t be a future best friend? If you already have too many friends to make new ones, good for you. I don’t. I actually do have more real life friends because of the internet, without it I might have…zero. God i’m such a nerd.

As far as documenting your projects on the blog goes, one reason I would write things down is it helps me think clearly and problem solve. I know I shouldn’t need help thinking straight, but given that I’ve been taught from a very young age to write things down, I kind of do need it. How many wilderness schools recommend journaling? A lot. Maybe someday I’ll give up writing but not now. Plus if you’re going to write it you might as well let someone read it. There might be answers to questions that we can give you that your friends and family just don’t know.

Alright. Bye Bye!

p.s. check it out. I’ve learned to make paragraphs.

If you were practicing your bowdrill and your girlfriend was trying to get your attention, would you feel guilty? One of the key lies that Civilization tells us is that if something feels good, it’s probably wrong. I think it’s likely that if something feels good, it’s probably good. Your body knows.

It makes me feel good to read your essays. It’d be pretty cool if it made you feel good to write and share them. Sorta symbiotic…or maybe sorta like mutual masturbation (which is another thing Civilization wrongly tells us is a waste of time). But if you decide that you would feel better doing something else instead…well, whatever. I do, as a matter of fact, know how to live. Mutual masturbation is fun and all, but I’m totally capable of doing it myself.

Peace,
DeAnna

When I wanted to know about edible plants, I had to get books, seek out tour guides, scour the internet. It’s something I’ll have to keep learning. I can’t afford wilderness schools, and I kind of disdain the idea as well of people charging me for something that should be common human knowledge. I applaud them that they have broken out of the work slavery. But they’re still keeping a lock on the food, on the houses, on the clothing, on the tools by charging me vast sums of money to gain their knowledge among a group of strangers.

Fuck celebrity, Scout. The wild game has completely changed. We can no longer just be wild humans who “know how to live”. We have to be taught, we have to have some source for this information. I believe that the closest thing I have to a tribe right now is the interconnectedness that comes through this computer. I don’t even know the people that live in the apartment next to me, but I feel pretty certain that they don’t “know how to live”.

It sucks that the only tribe in existence for me is the eTribe. But now that I’m starting to find it, I don’t want to lose it. It’s great for you that you have the drive and place in life that gives you the freedom to shuck the chains of civilization. I don’t have that yet. And I’m not in a place where I can just start living in a debris hut. I hope to get closer to the point where I can get out from under civilization’s thumb. And you’re helping me do that.

So, again I say, fuck celebrity. You are helping me. If you cut off your connection with me, then I’ll lose part of my tribe.

You’re doing things that I want to do and can only dream of at the moment. But know that you are doing them, that they can be done will help me to do them some day.

As long as civilization is there as a prison to be escaped from, we the prisoners will need somebody to help us break out of it.

seriously though, i hope you don’t completely walk away from it all, i would personally suffer by not being able to follow your quest, read your wisdom and learn from your experiences/mistakes, etc…so from a selfish personal standpoint, i wish you’d remain in contact with the “world” in some capacity.

Col. Kurtz

On the one hand, we want to let go of the ego and simply experience life as it is. But, in order to do that, it is likely that we need a teacher. Does becoming a teacher mean that you have an ego? Only the teacher can answer that question. If you feel these trappings are holding you back, you should leave them behind. But, if you can carry them along without being weighed down by them, perhaps you can continue on as you have been to see how it works out?

If no one taught you, how would your life be different right now?