A School of Disappointment
Lets face it. Most times we go hunting with the bow, we don't get a deer. As great as Ishi was, it was only after his death and that Saxton and Pope managed to take a deer using the techniques he taught them, and even then, they chose to use the superior English Long Bow, rather than the bow that Ishi taught them to make. If we got one every time we went out, we would quickly be out of tags. Failure is a big part of hunting; getting the big buck is so exciting and intense precisely because it is so difficult to do, even with our superior bow, tree climbing, and scent management technology, this is anything but easy. When 30 yards is a long distance shot, deer hunting takes on a level of difficulty rifle hunters simply don't experience.
We protect our children from failure today. It is virtually impossible for them to fail. If they do poorly in school, their teachers are disciplined (especially now with "education reform"). There is no responsibility for children, and as they get into the real world, the transition to accountability can be a real shock for them as a result.
Hunting is a wonderful antidote to this: by taking our kids hunting we are teaching them to deal with failure, for failure is a huge (and frankly the biggest) part of the lifestyle. It has been like this from the beginning. The feasts hunters provided in hunter gathering societies were incredibly important, but most of the tribe's food came from the gatherers. Later, most of the food came from agriculture.The hunters were important, but they didn't have the best "batting average."
In stick and ball sports (my least favorite kind) failure is basically a 50/50 proposition, all things being equal. A team that wins only 50% of it's games is said to be "fair to middlin'." Yet, if a hunter got a deer 50% of the time they went out, they would be considered a genius of tracking, stand placement, and food-plot management. The freezer would be perpetually full and the local food banks would benefit from a constant stream of meat from the hunt for hunger program.
The same is true for auto racing, or for the batter in baseball. That is why watching these activities is so comforting. As a metaphor for life, these activities are actually akin to reality. Yet, unlike auto racing or baseball, hunting actually is life. It is part (along with gathering, and planting) of what we were put on this planet to do. It is why God (or nature) put our eyes in the front of our head, and not off to the side. Homo-sapiens are predators: omnivorous, smart, and capable of moral reasoning, agriculture, and civilization, but predators nonetheless.
So, why do hunters keep doing it? It is cold up in a tree stand, especially now as we enter the fullness of fall, and deal with the approaching winter. Sure, we have fancy scent blocking camos with all sorts of insulation, yet cold is cold. What makes someone go out in the sleet, when snow is on the ground and the wind chill below zero, to climb a tree and sit and freeze for hours on end waiting in the hope that a deer's path will cross his?
I am sure everyone has their own reasons. No matter what they are however, when one perseveres in the face of failure holding fast to the hope that they can succeed, they are displaying fortitude. This is assuming of course that they are constantly looking at their failure and attempting to learn from it. Just doing the same thing over and over again and failing is the definition of insanity. That said, if one is constantly working on getting better, studying, and putting new ideas into practice in search of success, and keeps going out in spite of failure, one is, most assuredly, on the road to success. It may not feel like it mind you, but that is where they are.
If remaining brave and working hard in the face of failure is essential to success, then fortitude is essential to success, and thus it is a special virtue to say the least. We are called to display this virtue even when the stakes are far higher than a mere job, or career path. We are called to display fortitude even in the face of death. Given that, if we have a streak where we don't see any deer, do we simply give up and walk away? Is that the solution? Or is the solution to revisit our scent management, recommit to leaving food, re-check our game cameras, re-check the wind, move our stand based on our findings, and get back out there? If we want to get deer, the solution needs to be the latter.
Fortitude is essential to life, and essential to hunting. If you have a streak where you don't see anything, recommit to the basics. Check everything, paying careful attention to scent and stand placement, and keep trying.
It also helps to remember this: no time in the tree stand is wasted, unless you choose to waste it. The zipper pouch on my climbing tree stand does more than hold the strap that goes around the tree for my safety harness. It also holds a book. As being up in a tree surrounded by nature and quiet is a sure way to get closer to God, my book relates to that.
What book would you most want for your tree stand? Whatever it is, never waste the time up there. Show fortitude, and whatever you do keep hunting... but don't waste the quiet. It is precious.
We protect our children from failure today. It is virtually impossible for them to fail. If they do poorly in school, their teachers are disciplined (especially now with "education reform"). There is no responsibility for children, and as they get into the real world, the transition to accountability can be a real shock for them as a result.
Hunting is a wonderful antidote to this: by taking our kids hunting we are teaching them to deal with failure, for failure is a huge (and frankly the biggest) part of the lifestyle. It has been like this from the beginning. The feasts hunters provided in hunter gathering societies were incredibly important, but most of the tribe's food came from the gatherers. Later, most of the food came from agriculture.The hunters were important, but they didn't have the best "batting average."
In stick and ball sports (my least favorite kind) failure is basically a 50/50 proposition, all things being equal. A team that wins only 50% of it's games is said to be "fair to middlin'." Yet, if a hunter got a deer 50% of the time they went out, they would be considered a genius of tracking, stand placement, and food-plot management. The freezer would be perpetually full and the local food banks would benefit from a constant stream of meat from the hunt for hunger program.
The same is true for auto racing, or for the batter in baseball. That is why watching these activities is so comforting. As a metaphor for life, these activities are actually akin to reality. Yet, unlike auto racing or baseball, hunting actually is life. It is part (along with gathering, and planting) of what we were put on this planet to do. It is why God (or nature) put our eyes in the front of our head, and not off to the side. Homo-sapiens are predators: omnivorous, smart, and capable of moral reasoning, agriculture, and civilization, but predators nonetheless.
So, why do hunters keep doing it? It is cold up in a tree stand, especially now as we enter the fullness of fall, and deal with the approaching winter. Sure, we have fancy scent blocking camos with all sorts of insulation, yet cold is cold. What makes someone go out in the sleet, when snow is on the ground and the wind chill below zero, to climb a tree and sit and freeze for hours on end waiting in the hope that a deer's path will cross his?
I am sure everyone has their own reasons. No matter what they are however, when one perseveres in the face of failure holding fast to the hope that they can succeed, they are displaying fortitude. This is assuming of course that they are constantly looking at their failure and attempting to learn from it. Just doing the same thing over and over again and failing is the definition of insanity. That said, if one is constantly working on getting better, studying, and putting new ideas into practice in search of success, and keeps going out in spite of failure, one is, most assuredly, on the road to success. It may not feel like it mind you, but that is where they are.
If remaining brave and working hard in the face of failure is essential to success, then fortitude is essential to success, and thus it is a special virtue to say the least. We are called to display this virtue even when the stakes are far higher than a mere job, or career path. We are called to display fortitude even in the face of death. Given that, if we have a streak where we don't see any deer, do we simply give up and walk away? Is that the solution? Or is the solution to revisit our scent management, recommit to leaving food, re-check our game cameras, re-check the wind, move our stand based on our findings, and get back out there? If we want to get deer, the solution needs to be the latter.
Fortitude is essential to life, and essential to hunting. If you have a streak where you don't see anything, recommit to the basics. Check everything, paying careful attention to scent and stand placement, and keep trying.
It also helps to remember this: no time in the tree stand is wasted, unless you choose to waste it. The zipper pouch on my climbing tree stand does more than hold the strap that goes around the tree for my safety harness. It also holds a book. As being up in a tree surrounded by nature and quiet is a sure way to get closer to God, my book relates to that.
What book would you most want for your tree stand? Whatever it is, never waste the time up there. Show fortitude, and whatever you do keep hunting... but don't waste the quiet. It is precious.
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