OCtober 11, 2020

Contributing to the Chaos while

Living – Life – Large

Dan Abernathy

An urban area is the region surrounding a city, has a large population density, a high degree of development and a lot of concrete. Rural areas are the opposite. They have a low population density, large amounts of undeveloped land and a environment where one can still touch the earth.

For a very short period of my tainted life, I lived in Cherry Creek, which is part of Denver’s urban squander. It was an interim period for me as I was returning from England and a long stint of journalistic assignments. My feet were standing on concrete, but my heart was looking back at Wyoming and the rural Shangri-La of Pinedale.

Living in this assemblage of population was far from “shinning times.” I have traveled the world and been in cities that were so populated that you could feel the confinement of a sardine can. This exposure to the over population of a crowded city was conformation that I was to remain a small town country kid.

It began in the small town of Bayfield, Colorado. I was raised part of which has now grown to be over 60 million people. Roughly 19.3% of America’s population resides in rural areas. One in five Americans lives in rural America.

I always lived outside of town, but not liking to ride the school bus, after school I would walk home. There was never any fear or worry from my parents or myself. The community looked out for each other and if anyone got into a bind there was someone close to help, or someone informing on what you had done. Being rural did not mean there was no mischief and there was never a time that you were not accountable for your actions.

I’ll never forget the freedom I had, after the chores were done. On many days throughout the year I would choose a fishing pole or perhaps my bolt action 22 and head out the door. Behind me my mother saying, “you be sure and be home by dark.” Off I would go on one adventure after the other and always returning home by dark, else there would be, “hell to pay.”

My family would sit at the dinner table and be a family. My father would never allow television to be blaring from another room and I cannot imagine what he would say about the attendance of a cell phone at the dinner table. He wanted no distractions and he believed it was disrespectful to not be completely present and take part of the meal my mother took the time to create.

We all talked about whatever each of us had going on in our lives. It was not a time to just sit and listen to my parents talking about what was happening with the family. It was a time my parents would also listen to what you had to contribute.

After leaving home and somewhat growing up I was discharged from the Army, I moved to Cora and submersed myself even deeper into rural lifestyle. I spent eight years on the Willow Creek Ranch, now with children of my own. My kids have moved on and migrated into cloning biosphere of urban dwelling, but the did so with a calm foundation developed from growing up rural.

I truly believe it is the loss of this foundation that has allowed our country to degrade and endure the mayhem that it is. One out of five people live in the country. This means four out of five people have lost the grounding energy of Earth and no longer have a stable foundation. The younger the person the more accurate this concept is.

There is quantifiable evidence that living in rural areas are better for us than urban areas. But first, you must free your mind and misplace the need for materialistic consumption that is constantly forced at you. There is less traffic, less people and less rudeness, which lowers the crime rates. These are some of the reasons that so many city dwellers are fleeing the metropolitan areas and not stopping until they find rural to get grounded.

Grounding to the Earth, standing barefoot on the Earth has been scientifically proven. We have been insulating ourselves from the Earth with rubber and plastic soles for decades. With this broken circuit we cannot discharge the build up of electrons, which are harmful to our immunity. In turn, the earth cannot provide us with the opposite charge of electrons, which mop up free radicals and provide Universal energy. This exchange through bare feet is simple, yet it remains unspoken because it cannot be patented, or contained for financial gain.

Not everyone can live rural, or we would lose rural. But we can look at the ways of rural living and include it into our blueprints for living. We can show understanding, compassion and gratitude. We can help someone with a random act of kindness for no other reason other then to help. We can honor someone else’s opinion even when it doesn’t radiate with yours. We can reflect to people that you cannot break one law by hiding behind another one. In short we can be nice.

When you have had enough and escape the bondage of urban dwelling, leave. But remember to leave the urban ways, rules and traits on the concrete you’re escaping from. Don’t bring with you what you are fleeing from. You will be walking the Earth now, kick your shoes off and get reconnected. We already are and do not need any urban policies that would traumatize Norman Rockwell.

Or you can turn off the television, toss aside the news and enjoy the serenity of solitude. Take the advice of Snook Moore, an old Outfitter that lived up Tosi Creek, on the other side of the Upper Green River, “never live on a place ya’ can’t pee off the porch.” - dbA