Living in the wild – a story of survival and self-discovery

Image: Copyright Murdo Macleod

In the September 2023 guest blog aimed at students, author Miriam Lancewood suggested an alternative view on planning a career and lifestyle. She challenges students to consider about embracing uncertainty and think about life beyond civilisation. Miriam is the author of international Bestseller “Woman in the Wilderness”, translated into 6 languages. “Wild at heart” is the sequel.

In March 2023, “Wilder Journeys” was published. It is an inspiring collection of adventure stories by many different authors and includes a chapter written by Miriam.

Dear Student.  Once upon a time I sat on a very similar chair as you. In school I was trying to decide what I should study, wondering what job I should have and what type of house I should buy. It didn't occur to me to think along any other line.

I was born in the Netherlands. After studying Physical Education, I volunteered to teach for a year in a school in Zimbabwe. Ever since I was a kid, I had a dream of working in Africa, because people had shown me images of poor but very happy children who needed aid from first world countries. Born with a sense of guilt, I was programmed to do "good" work for the poorer people of Africa.  Dreams are idyllic by nature because no one imagines a nasty dream.

But the dream was far from reality, and I was very unhappy, lonely, and depressed in Africa. I realized it's better not to have a dream, because you'll only be disappointed. It's better to live, follow intuition and see where you end up.

When travelling in India the following year when I was in my early twenties, I met an older man called Peter. He used to be a university professor in New Zealand before he got bored to death and decided to go and live in India where there's more chaos and liveliness. He said to me: "It is possible to live without working", which was a statement I had never heard in my life. We travelled Asia and spent as little money as possible by consuming very little. We ate where the locals did, avoided alcohol, cigarettes, phones, and internet bills. We never paid rent, but rather slept in our tent in the forests. We journeyed for years until we arrived in Peter's home-country New Zealand.

There we decided to live 4 seasons IN THE WILD. With a bow and arrow, we set off into the high mountains. We organized minimal food supplies and I learned how to hunt and gather for our survival. One year became seven.

We didn't have a dream of living in the wild, we just did it. Instead of creating an idyllic image of frolicking in the forest, we had a meta question. Our quest was: "What will would happen with body and mind when living far away from civilisation?"

The answer didn't come straight away; we had to live the answer. It was like on-going research. Consequently, whatever happened to us, was interesting. When I killed my first deer, I observed my response. A big thunderstorm hit us, and I'd look with curiosity at myself thinking how would I handle this? We go without food for a few days, how would my body react? Every aspect of life is of interest to me. And because of this approach I am learning every day. About myself, and about humanity in general.

At present we live in a small off-grid cottage in east Europe, Bulgaria. What will happen in the future, who knows. I'd like to keep it that way. To me, there's no bigger prison than a calendar and a planned life ahead of me. I want my future to be like a big white sheet. That's freedom to me.

Have an interesting life, my friends. Life is an adventure if you dare to step into the unknown and embrace insecurity.

Website: https://miriamlancewood.com

If you don't like reading, take a look at my Youtube channel:    https://www.youtube.com/@miriamlancewoodinthewild

About the author: Miriam Lancewood is the author of international Bestseller "Woman in the Wilderness", translated into 6 languages. "Wild at heart" is the sequel. "Wilder Journeys" was published in March 2023, and is a collection of adventure stories by many different authors, including a chapter by Mirian.

Past guest blogs:

Past guest blogs from previous months can be found under "News: categories - past guest blogs", or by following this link https://www.geographysouthwest.co.uk/category/past-guest-blogs/