elbear

Into the wild

I just watched this movie and it made an impact on me. Most of all, because I like to travel and Chris' romantic journey spurred in me the urge to travel again. It is romantic and at the same time a challenge to travel the way he did, with little resources, hitch-hiking, camping and living where ever he could. It's similar, although not as extreme, to the journey taken by Buddhist believers when they renounce their homes and their valuables and live on the street from the mercy of the others.

I think that such a journey strips you of the layer of distractions that you have around you and lets you focus on your core. It makes you live a simple life where poverty is actually a reason to interact with people more, with people and with the land. Chris wanted to live the life of the ancient man, of the hunter but with the mind of the modern man. He wanted to get away from modernity, from civilization. He was sick of it.

He did what a lot of us want to do. That's why there are many people who are inspired by his story and who admire him. Of course, there are those who criticize him for good reason for going to a hostile place so unprepared. I would call those people practical, without any note of irony or disdain. These people just look at the facts, the numbers and the "reality of life". They are realists not romantics.

In the end, what remains is that Chris took this journey to live his dream and made his dream endless.