Ever want to become feral?

I've always had a deep connection with the Earth and my appreciation for it has usually culminated in thoughts of becoming a feral human. Now it is a hazardous journey to begin. The endless risks and dangers presented to a person who chooses to abandon everything deter most from pursuing it.

Has anyone ever wanted to live as close to the Earth as possible?

As in maybe digging a den or making a small earth lodge/semi-underground shelter and dressing in furs or who knows what? Gathering wild plants (knowing the edible and useful from the toxic and lethal) and living with the true rhythm of the universe? Abandoning all conventional forms of thought besides your basic imperatives and simple common sense? (Though common sense can be considered conventional in some way but I won't go into that)

I have never been able to find any information about this in books or the internet except for a few articles here and there. It makes me recall reading about a person who abandoned society for a time and within 20 days he was so in tune with his surroundings that animals approached him and regarded him as brethren.

Now imagine doing that for a moment you'll feel a deep appreciation brewing inside of you. An appreciation for the dirt that gives rise to plants. The animals that help complete the cycle of life and the balance of nature. The cosmos that exert their influence over the planet. I do it enough lol (Everyday for at least three hours). It's amazing really.

 

i was born feral :rofl:

 

I Came Very Close To It Back In The 90's, When I

Intended Building A Tee Pee And Living Naked In Summer, And Skins

And Furs In Winter.

It Wasn't To Be Out In The Bush, But Somewere On My Farm, Because

Feral Or Not I Still Had To Attend To Business eg Rates, Mail etc.

I'm Not Keen Enough To Do It Now *too old* But I Wish You Well

In Your Dream...:sunny:



Cheers Glen.

 

It's not a matter of can you do it or not, it's a matter of do you have the courage to do it.~

It's as simple as running out into the forest and taking off all your clothes, to throw aside everything 'civilized', to throw aside your 'civilized' way of thinking, to take everything your ever 'owned' and ever been given by 'society' and letting it all go.~

I said it was simple, I didn't say it was easy.~

 

I think about it all the time and I'm sure I've done it at least once before.

 

I think things like that seem really romantic in theory, but what about when you haven't caught or found food in five days or your furs are soaked through because of rain or you don't even have furs to keep you warm because it turns out you aren't a very good hunter?

I had a very serious asthma attack on a camping trip once and that's when I stopped viewing returning to the wild in a romantic light. I was grateful to come home to a doctor and a humidifyer and a temperature controlled house.

Camping for days or weeks at a time is awesome but if you're used to creature comforts I think it would get old after a while.

 

Tragically, in this modern world it's next to impossible logistically and mostly illegal to live as you've described.
I sympathize, I really do...even where I live deep in the northern rockys I get to feeling like this. But it's a harsh reality after spell w/out easily available food, water and plumbing. To live as you say would require one to be basically nomadic, to avoid depletion in those scarce areas where food was available. Even with all the wild vegetation you might forage, you would still have to eat a lot of meat and fat from animals, fish, bugs, larvae, just about anything you could get your hands on to even come close to the calories necessary to have the energy to continue wandering, gathering firewood, building temporary shelter and what-not...

Not to worry! You can soothe that feral part of your brain somewhat by doing what I do...

Simulate yourself a primitive camping fix!
Take a tent and bag, get as far from civilization as possible...make a camp, stay up late with a fire, fall asleep under the stars, wake up in the morning dew and go foraging for something to eat...
... feel the essence of the gatherer/hunter mind.. (stomach lol)

Spring is coming, get yer ass to the woods.

 

Maybe the closest thing to feral was the mountain men of the 17 and 18oos. They'd stay in the wilderness for months or years in some cases. The closest I've seen was a guy in Hawaii that was a fruitarian and just wandered around looking for fruit to eat and a place to lay down in the jungle to sleep. He didn't look very healthy.

 

Yeah and to be 50 was really old for a Mountain-man back then.

yep, most folks need more than fruit for good health I'm pretty sure.

It would certainly have to be a tropical environment though...
We just don't have the body hair anymore to go truly feral! brrr! :freezing:

 

The thing about being wild is, you don't think about it, you just do it.~

 

I think it's good for anybody, in small doses. It helps you separate the truly important from the bullshit, and enhances your appreciation for things mostly taken for granted.
:sunny:

 

if you wanna become feral, the first step is walking away from the computer

 

Actually I've been thinking about this for awhile and I wonder if we were to let our hair and body develop naturally it is possible it would reach to our feet both top hair and beard, I was thinking if I could get my hair to grow this long maybe I could use it like fur and keep warm?~ ;p

And the hair upon on our heads DOES work like fur of more covered animals:

Warmth

Polar bears use their fur for warmth and while their skin is black, their transparent fur appears white and provides camouflage while hunting and serves as protection by hiding cubs in the snow.


While humans have developed clothing and other means of keeping warm, the hair found on the head serves as primary sources of heat insulation and cooling (when sweat evaporates from soaked hair) as well as protection from ultra-violet radiation exposure. The function of hair in other locations is debated. Hats and coats are still required while doing outdoor activities in cold weather to prevent frostbite and hypothermia, but the hair on the human body does help to keep the internal temperature regulated. When the body is too cold, the arrector pili muscles found attached to hair follicles stand up, causing the hair in these follicles to do the same. These hairs then form a heat-trapping layer above the epidermis. This process is formally called piloerection, derived from the Latin words 'pilus' ('hair') and 'erectio' ('stiffening'), but is more commonly known as 'having goose bumps' in humans.[10] This is more effective in other mammals whose fur fluffs up to create air pockets between hairs that insulate the body from the cold. The opposite actions occur when the body is too warm; the arrector muscles make the hair lie flat on the skin which allows heat to leave. ~ Wikipedia

I purpose that the reason we grow our hair upon our heads and faces so long as Humans is because we lack enough fur on the rest of our bodies to maintain warmth, the hair from our heads and faces is supposed to cover those parts at least partially.~ ^_^