Contentment

As a hunter, one of the toughest things for me is learning to be content. Not the kind of contentment where I'm happy to just be sitting on the couch, but being content with my personal goals and desires and the opportunities that I'm given, as opposed to things that are out of reach and leave me feeling depressed.

This past year has been a good one for me in that I was able to get a bull elk, a buck and a doe, all with my longbow. The buck wasn't huge but it fit the criteria that I had set for myself. I knew that the Christmas season would be busy and so I decided that I wouldn't get my rifle out for rifle season and if I did hunt, I would use my bow or my flintlock and would only look for something big. That would make everything less busy.

Just when I thought I had this contentment thing figured out I started seeing pictures on Facebook of all the big bucks that were being taken in rifle season. I started getting the idea that I was going bonkers, not being out there with my rifle and taking advantage of the best chance of the season to get a good buck.

When it comes to hunting, it's easy to start thinking that it's all about killing a big buck. It's too easy to look at others and think that someone else has it better than me, that I'm missing out. I'm sure that almost everyone has a similar sort of problem somewhere in their life, be it looking a certain way or having a certain lifestyle, etc. 

For me it's mostly been in the area of hunting. And that's probably because it's what I'm most passionate about. 

I've always been an avid deer hunter. Rifle, bow, or muzzleloader, if it was in season, I was out there. To be honest, I started out doing pretty well. My first buck was a nice eight pointer that still hangs on the wall. Because I was so passionate about hunting I was in the woods a lot. And because I was in the woods a lot, the odds were in my favor and I took a lot of bucks, at least when I looked across the aisle and compared myself to others in my walk of life.

My first case of serious FOMO (fear of missing out) happened in the early two thousands. I was newly married and my scheduled weekend to work just happened to fall on the opening day of rifle season and no one would trade me weekends. I was devastated. I hadn't missed the opening day of rifle season since I started hunting back when I was thirteen or fourteen. 

But now it was happening. And this wasn't just any season. I had a big eight point pegged. I hadn't been able to get him with a bow but I was pretty sure I had him figured out enough that I could get him on the first day of rifle season. But now I had to work. I was certain someone else would get him. The first day came and I couldn't believe it. I was working. Someone else would get my buck.

When Monday morning finally came, I headed to the woods half-heartedly. I was certain that the buck was gone. I saw a small four point and was really tempted to squeeze the trigger. This was during the time when passing up bucks wasn't a popular thing and so I was really tempted to take the buck, figuring that it would be my only chance for the season. It would be nice to at least be able to say that I got a buck and appear to be in the fellowship of good hunters. But I decided not to shoot. About an hour later I was starting to kick myself for passing up the shot when I saw some deer coming. The first one was the buck I was after. I squeezed the trigger and he took off down the hill. When I found him I couldn't believe how big he was. 

It was a lesson where I discovered that holding onto my dreams and standards was more important than looking good, and yet it did both. It  was one of those moments that has helped in other areas in life. It's ok when perception says that I'm missing out or if my viewpoints aren't cool. If I know what my goals and beliefs are, someone else's pictures or ideas shouldn't be able to make me think that my goals or standards that I've set for myself are irrelevant. 

As I was starting to write this blog last evening, I got a text from my nephew Levi. His story fits with mine.

Levi loves hunting! And he's been blessed growing up on a farm with lots of deer and big deer at that. He's been taking nice bucks for as long as I can remember. My dad dubbed him “Lucky Levi”, although I'm pretty certain that his success isn't all luck.

Anyway Levi has had this dream of shooting a good buck on public land for a while now. And last night he did it. His text said something like, “I just got my first public land buck and it's a doozy!” I could tell he was excited and he should be. If you've hunted public land at all then you know how tough it can be. Sometimes I'll hunt for days in a row without seeing a deer. Other times I see so many other hunters that I think that it's impossible for any deer to even survive. I'm sure there were lots of times when Levi saw big deer pictures on Facebook and thought really hard about heading back to the farm where he had higher odds. I'm sure that there were people that thought he was crazy for hunting on public land when he had a great piece of private land to hunt. But he stuck it out, chasing his dream. I know for a fact that he's happy that he did.

I guess I'm saying all of this to say that doing things that you love matters. It's easy to sweep what you love under the rug and chase after things you see others doing, like going on high dollar vacations or things that don't fit your budget anyway. You start worrying about what others think about you and trying to fit in. If you would focus on those things that do bring you joy you will find yourself being much more content with what you have. 

This week is the advent of peace. Peace is often viewed as something that's out there in the bigger world. Something between people. But really it's something inside of us. Being content is a part of it. And that starts with thanking God for what you have. 

So thanks for reading my blog. I may not have a big following, but it brings me joy and contentment knowing that there's a possibility that it might bring joy to someone.

And so I just want to thank God for that!