Rainy Day Philosophy & Lessons I Learned

By Dennis Lantz

The Hogan Journal continues:

5/18 - I sat by the creek smoking the pipe and waiting for Mark when the rain came. We went inside the hogan and read poetry that we had written in years past. I think of it as an opening up of our philosophy discussions. We talked of Thoreau, Whitman, Martin Luther King Jr. and many more. We talked about the Native Americans from this area, a topic I have studied in books from my father.

It rained much of the day.

It is still interesting to think that I am actually doing what I have always dreamed of doing. This will always be a part of me, the “who I am”. Now I just hope there is enough time in this summer to do all the learning that I want to do.

5/20 - As is becoming common, we sat around after dark philosophizing. This time we chatted about politics and the media and how the politically correct agenda of a few conformist liberals has influenced what people can and cannot do. Mark says it hides the truth more than helps. If a person is a bigot, let him show it in his words and deeds. At least everyone will know. We also talked of spirituality and how everyone has a different spiritual path.

If this luxurious living can be considered camping, then this week is the longest that I have ever camped.

Notes: As we worked on the cooking fire, Mark placed some birch bark in a fencelike pattern around the perimeter of the fire pit. The water in them evaporated and they slowly bowed like Japanese samurai toward the fire until their heads were engulfed in flames.

It is so easy to feel polluted when I am in society with my family. There is not that state of great calm or unfocused awareness. It is all choppy. I feel so much more at ease in the woods. I know that somehow, someday I must take this feeling back to society. They must share in it and I must also, for it is the next step in my spiritual and psychological development. I almost cannot wait until Memorial Day next weekend to share the great discoveries I have made so far.

5/21 - Back in the woods I read some Dr. Wayne Dyer. The main topic seemed to be about self-worth. It was good council. We ate beans, nettles and garlic mustard greens and venison that I had gotten at the house. The food was delicious.

Mark and I sat outside talking. When I came back he was playing the flute and it sounded great, like an Irish jig or marching fifes.

We asked ourselves this question, “If you could be any historical figure except Jesus Christ or one of his disciples, a nature shaman or Biblical figure, who would you be? (I am not sure why we had those particular restrictions). I thought first that I would be Charlemagne, but couldn’t spell it and I don’t know that much about him. I also contemplated being Henry David Thoreau, but he died a bit too young. Pondered about Franklin, all the presidents, famous writers, historians, great minds and while I liked them all, I still decided that I would rather be myself. Mark decided the same. That didn’t stop us from much other rumination. Monks were out because of the women issue. Robin Hood seemed all right, but not ideal. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Goethe, Homer and Shakespeare were all fine choices, but not good enough. Nostradamus, Lewis or Clark, LaFayette, Ghengis Khan, Julius Caesar, Marco Polo, the Dalai Lama, Mozart, Elvis, Dan Morgan, Ethan Allen and Eric the Red were options. So was Bruce Lee, who had a good life, but died way too young. Maybe some oriental master… a sensei. I don’t know. We never made a choice.

5/25 - Our discussions ranged from the life of Christ to square dancing, group social occurrences (the wave at sporting events or goofy dancing) Olympics (teary eyes at good humanity) and mysticism (which I am not sure about).

6/11 – Maybe someday I will think more about the concept of fishing for pleasure. Mark and I talked for a while about debating, school practices and museums. We are both against some aspects of museums, namely the disruption of graves and burials. However, museums do serve a great educational purpose. They are also “real life” images or the real thing, unlike books that may just show pictures.

7/13 - We came down to the hogan again. On this night we talked about the police and how they should be held in higher esteem than they are and how the system could work better through community policing and even a higher trained and better paid force. We talked Criminal Justice, which was Mark’s major in school. We talked about teaching at school and how we will teach. We must get kids interested by personalizing the message and through debates. They must want to learn. Because we may be teaching kids who do not wish to be taught, we want our message to be about happiness of life. We must go to them as Christ went to various towns. It is easier for reformers to travel. Teaching adults is fine because they should experience life in wilderness, but with children you can change lives.

5/29/2020: As you can see, I left in a few lines that were not about philosophy or rumination. Picking around through the journal for entries on a particular topic makes me feel like I leave out much of the context. It is more personal (and more interesting) when the stories come straightforward with all the random thoughts and stories. There is much that is not blog-worthy, but is still important. The little things: how we worried about our sisters having their babies… or when my dad came through on a walk… or when Mark got attacked by blackbirds… and a frog he thought was a mouse… when an unknown dark spirit kept me awake one particular night… or our preparation for the vision quest…

I am a fan of as-is journal writing. I’m not afraid of revealing my fears or showing that I was insensitive or prejudiced or insecure. When I pick and choose, it is easy to leave those qualities out. But it isn’t as real. So from now on you will get more complete journal entries, not topical relevant pieces.

Anyway, we learned many lessons that summer. Some came from books. Some came from living in the natural elements. But if I had to quantify the education, there is no doubt that most of our learning came from our philosophical discussions around the fire or in the hogan.

All education is self-education… In a short time, Mark and I read many books. Dr. Wayne Dyer, Tom Brown Jr., books on religion, Socrates, birds, plants, trees, Kant, Buddhism. Those books were our teachers and we discussed what we read.

Sharing ideas is better than keeping them to yourself. The same can be said of experiences. I remember sitting down by Hilliker’s pond, the frogs and insects creating a chorus worthy of Beethoven or Brahms. Lightning bugs danced about like they were at a rave and moonlight reflected off the dark water. In that moment I knew both happiness and loneliness. In life we accumulate memories, ideas and stories. It seems selfish and inhuman to keep them to ourselves.

While I cannot pinpoint the moment I learned my greatest lesson, it will take only two sentences to share. When life gets tumultuous… go out into the woods and relax. And take a friend.

Until next time,

Read, Learn, Live