Rich in Spirit

“This weekend I am going hog hunting!” and “probably next weekend I will do some fishing…” These are the words my coworkers and non-hunting friends hear from me all the time or something close to that. When the weekend starts to get close everyone begins to discuss their plans and mine usually fall into the same category – being outdoors or getting ready for a hunting or fishing trip. I can’t count the times people have asked me how can I always be hunting or fishing and where do I get the money for it all the time.

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I am far from rich, financially. My husband and I are just regular people with middle class jobs who work hard like the majority of the country. We have bills, surprise expenses, ups & downs, and everyday life like most but we plan our lives around our passions for the outdoors as much as we can. While others spend their money on going to the movies, expensive clothes, trips to theme parks, or the latest and greatest ‘anything’, most of our purchases involve hunting, fishing, and the outdoors. We don’t take the typical vacations to Paris to sight-see or be a tourist. Our honeymoon, anniversaries, vacations, and holidays incorporate the outdoors in one way or another. For example, many couples plan a honeymoon in a beautiful paradise to relax and lay on the beach and shop; for us although we did make a trip to Cabo San Lucas, it was not for the sand and the sun specifically, it was because Cabo is one of THE best places for Marlin fishing! Trust me we researched this for a while (ill have another blog to explain the fishing adventures we had while in Cabo). Yes the beaches were beautiful, the shopping was cool, but our main reason to go was for the fishing!

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When we plan ‘get-togethers’ with friends, it isn’t BBQing at someone’s house just hanging out; nope we gather a group of our friends and head out on a hog hunt or exotic hunt. Yes we do BBQ and ‘hang out’ before and after the hunt, but it’s also another hunting trip and experience we will never forget with great friends. During the holidays, we plan hunts around the necessary family time and enjoy the less chaotic world of the field from the craziness of the mall! We are always planning our next hunt, next trip, and next adventure outdoors because it’s not just a hobby for us, it is our life. This is what I do, this is what I love, and this is what I will always find a way to enjoy.

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Hunting, fishing, and the outdoors is more than just a hobby, it is also a way to sustain our lives! I do not come home empty handed from a hunting trip or season; I usually have meat to live on which means it was almost like an extremely fun trip to the grocery store (which I HATE by the way). If they made grocery shopping as fun as hunting then I might enjoy it more; careful you might find me shooting apples out of a tree next time! I always like to compare it to a very popular (and sometimes expensive) hobby/sport of golf. I have nothing against golf, but at the end of the day after a round of golf you come home with a scorecard, some dirty clubs, and your golf balls – none of which you can do much with, much less eat any of that. When I come home from hunting or fishing I typically have meat and fish to eat, maybe a hide to cover furniture or decorate with, or a skull to cherish the memories and decorate.

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Although I am not ‘money-rich’ I am however rich in my spirit from the adventures and experiences I have had and those that are yet to come. EVERY time I return from a trip or spending time outdoors I am refreshed and happy. Nature has a way of keeping it simple which is a contrasting change to the chaos of the city and workplace. I can look at my living room wall of mounts and smile knowing how much fun each hunt was, the bonding and memories overwhelm me and I know there will be more to come. The pictures in our house show our passion for the outdoors as well. When hunting and fishing becomes more than just a hobby, you always make time for it, you save your money for it, you budget for it, and you live for it. It isn’t an option anymore; it’s a necessity to live, to stay sane, to stay simple and to fill that burning passion deep inside that cannot be extinguished.