When I first took up my spot in the woods I was alone and everything was perfectly still except the cool breeze blowing through the trees. I found a large tree with a split in it and decided it would become my home for a while. The ground covering was relatively low around my spot so there wouldn’t be much work to be done to prepare to live there. When the wind blew through the trees the shadows would dance on the ground, forming all kinds of strange shapes. A few corn cobs were laying around, I suspected that something had eaten the corn and left the cob to rot in the wilderness. Surrounding my large tree were small plants, maybe a half a foot high, but none higher then my knee. About 30 feet away I saw logs scattered about the ground, perhaps someone had previously lived here or near here. As I prepared my tree for living I heard birds chirping in the distance. A small rabbit approached me and stared at me as if I was a stranger, maybe invading his home. He began snacking on some of the foliage in the area but was startled off when I began working again. My house was now complete and I was ready to live in solitude.
I went to the woods because I needed to get away from society. No longer could I stand the sirens, screaming babies, beeping horns, and loud people. I need time to be by myself, to relax and think. I don’t know exactly why I choose the woods to live in, most people would consider it rather strange to live in the wild woods. I, however, considered it to be different and adventurous. Maybe I would see something someone had never seen before, maybe I would learn a better way of life, I don’t know exactly what I was expecting. I wasn’t sure how long I planned to live in the woods, all alone in solitude like this. I just knew I needed to get away from everything, and away I went.
Living in the new area I felt like an outcast, unable to communicate with anything. Birds and other creatures would look at me strangely, almost questioning me why and what I was doing in their territory. I then realized that everything is living its own life, the humans have their places and are used to things being a certain way as are the creatures of the forest. I felt so small on the spectrum of life, so many other things were living in the woods with me, most of them unnoticed. I then realized that the trees are alive too, they grow more each day and climb to reach the sun light. Just before it is about to rain they turn their leaves over, as if they do not wish to damage the tops of their leaves. I was but one man, living in the woods with perhaps billions of other life forms.
I believe that civilization is for the weak, the strong do not stick with civilization, they create their own path to learn and be strong. People do not understand what it is to live, they spend each day of their life in a little box only to come home and stare at another one until falling asleep. Because of society, people no longer know how to live for themselves, they are told to do things and do them so they can buy food and other things they need. In the wilderness you make your own decisions, you hunt or go hungry, it’s as simple as that. You do not have bills to pay, people to visit, or a lawn to mow. You live your life a creative and fun way, not a boring and routine way.
I left the woods for as good a reason as I went there. I needed to be rejoined with people, no longer could I spend my nights alone, my only friend a bird. I had learned my lessons and it was time to move on, perhaps to a different lifestyle then before. I knew that with each new lifestyle I tried I would find things I liked and disliked. I thought to myself perhaps I could find all of the benefits of living different ways and combine them, into one custom way of life if you will. No longer was solitude the right way of life, I decided from that experiment that solitude was not the best way to live.
Without talking to anyone, I learned what was like to live alone, without help from any other person. I must hunt for myself, for no one was going to buy me food. Living in the woods taught me how to be self-dependent and a stronger person. Perhaps more people should migrate and live a few weeks of their life in the woods alone. I felt so small, so meaningless in the plot of the world. What was it to any of these creatures had I died, it would mean nothing to them. They would watch as the birds picked at my remains and wouldn’t even think twice about it. I knew I needed to stick up for myself or I would end up dead. Living in the woods brought me many enjoyments but also hindered my normal style of living greatly. Maybe my normal style of life needed a change, a spice up if you will. The biggest thing I learned while living in the woods was how to live for myself and no one else.