Into The Wild

Finished the book a couple of weeks ago. Pretty interesting read. The book mentioned several other individuals who like Chris, decided to live different lives, away from society. I once thought the life of a hermit would be pretty awesome, as it saves you the frustration of dealing with human beings, and the complexities of relationships, responsibilities, etc. but of coz the life as a hermit comes with a price.. Boredom, fewer resources, no affection and comfort when you need them,etc. I think these people were a little extreme in their lifestyle choices and sad to say, some of them ended up killing themselves or met with accidents... It's the same with Chris McCandles... I guess his reckless youth was the cause of his death. To go into the wild without a proper map, resources, training, is as good as issuing yourself a death sentence. And I seriously do not think he had any intentions to end his life, even though there were speculations that he had a death wish. He had asked for help and had hoped that passerbys would see his SOS note and rendered him assistance. But it was too bad that hikers found him a little too late. It's a terrible waste of life. And I just can't bring myself to admire his lifestyle although I do admire his courage in doing what he felt was right and giving up the sense of comfort/ security of his life. I think I would have admired him more if he had been a little less idealistic and went to live in the wilderness with the proper tools and resources. I found him a little irresponsible as well. Sometimes we have to realize that our decisions and actions can have an impact on the people around us, and it is naive and selfish to think that "This is my life and I am free to do whatever I want with it".