Ever since I remember myself (which is quite a while) I have found myself attracted to Nature, to what is, for me, the real world. Sunsets and sunrises from mountain tops, the wildness of a winter storm, with its rain and lightning. Dipping in a tumultuous sea, or a cold desert pool. The joy of eating a meal, cooked over a fire, underneath a star filled sky, when the body is exhausted, but the spirit is in ecstasy. I would return refilled with energy, to my studies or my work, waiting for that next trip, to feel again the primordial forces around me. Not that the day to day life was bad – a family, raising the children, challenging yet fun work in hi-tech. At least I always insisted on getting a cubicle next to a window, with a view to the world outside. I also continued with my other activities – my love for long distance running and rock climbing, my daily tai chi practice, playing the clarinet, the joy in preparing food for friends and family, looking after my body and spirit, so that they did not calcify and deteriorate.
But with time, I came to realize that something was missing. I came across the saying off Marcus Aurelius “It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.”, and it resonated deeply within me. I understood that I need to live my life as I feel it, to listen to my heart. For me – this meant living as closely as I could to the Earth. I encountered the world of Primitive Skills, first in a course with Ray and Jenny Jardine, then with Ofer and Yael Israeli, in “Shomrei Hagan” (Keepers of the Garden, from the Book of Genesis 2:15), and with Tom Brown in the Tracker School, and Jon Young's Kamana Program. I am still learning, and also teaching – kids in Shomrei Hagan youth groups. Adults in Barefoot Running workshops, and in workshops on vegetarian cooking in Nature and on Simple Living. I am a strong believer in doing things gradually, and avoiding extremes. I still have a cell phone (though I try to minimize its use), I drive a car, I obviously use the Internet (as in this blog). But I try to minimize my ecological footprint (as taught in Permaculture), to widen my knowledge and connection to this world, to try new things, and to learn to look differently at things that I already “know”. In this manner, I have deepened my interest in vegan food in general, and raw food in particular. All of these are stages and processes that are part of my path towards a simpler life, towards simple living. On the more specific meanings of these words and ideas I hope to write in this blog. I have reached these insights thanks to meetings with some inspirational people, from conversations and books and articles, and through observing the world. I hope to share these insights here.
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