Charlie Lamb said it best...

[Legolas]

While sitting for endless hours in a tree this season I marveled about how I enjoy doing it. I think trad hunting puts such limitations on the sucessful hunt that we are forced to reevaluate why we do it and what we get out of it.

I realized that like a kid waiting on Christmas, or an adult planning for a vacation or planning a new hunting season it is the preparation and experiencing of PATIENCE that trips my switch.

In this day of cell phones, instant food, GPS car data and the like hunting forces me to come into atonement with nature rhythms not mans.

I get into my stand and it takes about 30 minutes to get settled and get the nervousness down and my head into the right place. When the harness is on, the arrow resting on the shelf,
clothes adjusted, and I can just sit and the process of renewal begins. It is very much like meditation. I have learned transcendental meditation 30 some years ago and the process is very similar. After a session relaxation and stress reduction takes place. The ragged nerves are soothed and the heart is more at peace.

CAHRLIE LAMB:" We take life in order to learn how to live life"

Paul

[adkmountainken]

very, very well said. me feelings exactly, in fact i was thinking about posting just such thoughts, we are one in the same on this, nice to be in such great company!

[Wannabe1]

I concur with yours and Kens thoughts. The excitement leading up to the hunt can keep me going for long periods of time. Then once I'm out there in nature it's like a slow release that is very soothing. I get my mind in place and really just enjoy the simplicity and uniqueness of Gods work. When I return home from a hunt, I'm like a new person. Even my wife can see the contentment in me.  

[adkmountainken]

i get buck/hunting fever terriable just thinking about getting in the woods. once i'm there its all good and i can't help but smile, all troubles just evaporate. hunting recharges my life battaries and keeps me level. to be one with the woods and blend in is the best medicene one can get and its free.

[maineac]

I agree.  In our rush about it world it is hard to really settle down.  Even when in a stand I sometimes have trouble letting go.  that has been my task this year.  To really relax and set my daily world aside when I get into a stand.

[zilla]

While I get really excited about bow hunting, sitting on the other hand doesn't do much for me.. I usually sit in ambush by a water hole, etc, but after a while I just gotta get up and move around.  Unless there is game afoot..  I have never sat in a tree stand.

[Firstarrow]

Amen

[Legolas]

When I was a young bow hunter I needed the validation that I could be successful and later that I needed to bag a big rack. I was hungry and aggressive to prove myself.

Now as a more experienced fellow I could care less now what shows up or how I do. Of course I want to fill my tag(s) but I feel no pressure to do so. This takes the experience to another level. I now enjoy every moment in the woods and it leads to a more fulfilling experience. The journey itself becomes the prize.

Paul

[ishiwannabe]

I was thinking the exact same thing while on stand today. No deer showed and I still walked out smiling.
The woods...nothing like it.


On another subject, Legolas, you still need camo for kids? Please let me know if you do, I dropped the ball last year and never got the package out.

[Legolas]

I can forward camo to the kids for sure!Thanks Jamie

[Charlie Lamb]

I always marvel at the way I start on stand thinking about every little problem in my life that needs a solution.
After a while sitting there I realize I'm not thinking of anything at all

Life's problems become smaller and the solutions easier to find when I finally get home.

Suppose it really is a "Zen" thing, Paul.