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What's a Wilderness?

 
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bpayton



Joined: 01 Dec 2020
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 26, 2021 10:48 am    Post subject: What's a Wilderness? Reply with quote

I grew up with a certain definition of "wilderness". as a boy growing up in the state of Maine, I was lucky to spend my youth in the forests. Our family owned 100 acres in the country, and I was ALWAYS out in nature with my dog. Wandering, playing soldier, sleeping undertone stars. But this wasn't the wilderness, it was close enough to home to sleep out all night, but still have a hot breakfast in the my mother's kitchen after a 10 minute walk. The Wilderness was up north or to the west, in the mountains and amidst the hundreds of thousands of acres of nothing but trees, lakes, and rivers. As a teen, I often traveled to the wilderness to challenge myself. the challenge was physical- fighting the cold, the miles of up-and-down-hill walks along the Appalachian trail, carrying what I needed to survive on my back. the challenge was also practical: finding a sheltered spot for a camp, gathering wood and water, cooking meal, setting up a tent, getting comfortable for the night. And there was also the mental challenge: occupying the mind on a long walk by oneself, through a long night of darkness in the middle of nowhere, or a long day inside a tent when there was too much rain or snow to venture out.
So when I read of the wilderness in the Bible growing up, my own wilderness experiences colored my interpretation. the wilderness, I surmised, was a place of contemplation, and of challenge, but not of deprivation or hardship. Certainly not of death, as Dr. Laniak notes in his observations. Because my experience of wilderness was as one accustomed to being in the wilderness, and trained to survive in the wilderness, I saw the wilderness as a place to be tested and to grow skills. I didn't fear the wilderness. of course, I knew it could be dangerous if you were unprepared, or if you weren't careful and didn't choose wisely. I still spend as much time as I can in the wilderness of North Carolina. nothing is more soothing to me than a dog, a backpack, and a trail through mountains.
Years later, I did find my self in the desert. In fact, I was camped literally on the banks of the Euphrates, sharing my morning coffee with fellow warriors as we discussed our next foray into the vastness of the hot Iraqi deserts. deserts that were hot, and inhumane, and where challenges far beyond nature and environment threatened us: other men were trying to kill us. But again, I looked at this wilderness as a challenge: I was trained, and prepared, to survive this wilderness. A typical day in our desert, wartime wilderness food us in thick body armor and other combat gear, riding in super-heated metal boxes called HMMWV ("Humvee", for High Mobility Multi-Wheeled Vehicle), or walking thorough dusty desert streets. The stakes were high: mortars, improvised explosives, snipers were a constant threat. But the thing is, even in such a wilderness environment, with death stalking you, there is still an element of boredom. War is constant boredom interrupted by moments of terror, followed by more boredom. And so there is time to contemplate, even while keeping an eye on the things necessary for survival. So again, wilderness as a time of testing and contemplation. but not something to fear, simply something to overcome.
I've been in other deserts: the deserts of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, where one can spend the work day in air-conditioned comfort, drive a Suburban loaded with food, water, and carpets to the middle of nowhere, rent a 4-wheel ATV and race the dunes, then spend the evening having a picnic under the stars. And where one can go into a nearby city, eat western food, and spend the afternoon haggling over gold and emeralds with the vendors. Or the deserts of Qatar, where one can simply go to take a few days off from war, getting shot at on the way to the Baghdad airport in the morning, and drinking beer by the pool, contemplating one's fortunatesurvival, by late afternoon. Not all deserts are crated equal!
But to the point: the wilderness, whether it be forest or desert, has always been a place to meet and overcome challenges. To accept that death is possible, but know that to be in the wilderness and die is preferable to stay in the safety and security of easy living. To be confident that one is prepared, having done the training, studying, building of skill and character to have a fair chance of survival. and also, in the midst of addressing the very real tests, to be able to stop and contemplate things: the wild beauty of untamed nature, the glory of passing the test and learning more about life, self, and God, and the sheer joy of one's survival.
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Bill Payton
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