As men, we've evolved to be the hunters of the pack. Despite renting some cozy downtown apartment that's five minutes away from the closest Starbucks, we are still made up of primal genes that allowed our hunter forefathers to thrive. Like any healthy muscle, these instincts should be exercised.
In the last year, I've had two grizzly encounters. Both bears were huge, and looked at me like a fly on the wall, they had no fear whatsoever. Both these encounters scared the shit out of me. The most recent one I was by myself, no gun, no bear spray, no air-horn, food in my backpack. The bear charged me, it wasn't fun.
Let's be clear, I'm not recommending to anyone to head out into the wild in search of Grizzlies without safety precautions. However, these encounters were exhilarating. Nothing gives you perspective like having Adrenaline pumping through your veins, wondering if you're ever going to order another coffee from that Starbucks down the street.
Exercising these ancient instincts we all have is a reminder of the incredibly safe lives we live today, it reminds us what mother nature really is, and of death. Nothing makes you feel more alive than having a close encounter with death. Again, don't go out looking for these close encounters, but every once in a while, go and exercise the your primitive instincts. Go climb a mountain, alone. Cross a river, climb a tall tree, go cliff jumping. There are many different ways of humoring these instincts, but they almost all require you to get out of the safety of your neighborhood, and get out into the wild.