Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer

Wild experience reading about a young man (read summary here) who drifted around the country after burning his cash and giving away all his money, only to end up dying of starvation in Alaska. Now a movie that I want to see also.

It is interesting how you can live in the American wilderness and how you can be-bop around the country just in a survival mode. I have had a slight taste of his lifestyle, having traveled around the country for a year, camping out in Montana for a summer, and the like. But it's not the same. For one, I was traveling from my house and returning to my house. I didn't stay on the road.

I didn't live on no money. I was living on credit that I was going to pay back with the sale of my home. I had a plan. And I wasn't living on the streets. And I was looking for something, but not lost. I was seeking America in revival. I was seeking American small towns and to be in the outdoors. I think he was looking for something and lost. But I can relate to him and his exhilaration in traveling and being free. Also, there's something to be said for his rugged survival methods.

But he wasn't well. Ultimately he couldn't even take care of himself, he couldn't even help himself eat. He cut himself off from people. I was reaching out to people, even while enjoying the peace of nature and small towns.

Most importantly, I took a shower every day. He was teased by co-workers when he briefly worked at a McDonalds for having body odor from not bathing.

But God directed my steps. I did find people who loved God. I was not disappointed. And I think, "oh that I had an account of my journey around America as detailed as this book by Jon Krakauer." It would be so interesting. I don't know if I can write everything that I remember.

Krakauer writes this story in such detail, it's amazing. Why does such a nut and such a lost soul who is not very inspiring get so much written about him? I guess we can learn something from his story about human nature, about the impetuous nature of youth. We can identify our own weaknesses and pitfalls when we see him fall headlong into his own demise. But I could only read a third of the book. It is too depressing to go any further.

More than anything, it re-ignites my awareness of the lost in our country - young souls who do not have a clue about where to turn, or who to turn to for fulfillment.

I said, "Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.Behold, I would wander far away, I would lodge in the wilderness. Selah. I would hasten to my place of refuge From the stormy wind and tempest." Psalm 55: 7-9 New American Standard

This heart cry of David's, ancient and universal, depicts what motivated the character in the book and what motivated me to travel. Many can relate to this. Into The Wild proves that merely a desire for the wilderness can lead a person to destruction without the wisdom that divine guidance can offer. Ultimately I find myself living in the city again, not because I love the city, but because divine guidance says that the wilderness cannot provide a perfect answer.