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Hunting helps the spirit
As you sit there waiting for dawn to break, the thoughts are usually the same: What will I see today? What wonderful experience does God have in store for me? Even if your mind is heavy, settle in, take a deep breath and look around. What do you see: Cars flying by? A boss with a deadline? An aggravating coworker? No, there isn't any of that out here. Out here in nature you will feel a slight breeze tickle your face, see a squirrel scurrying through the leaves for acorns, smell the fresh cedar that was just rubbed off a nearby tree. Out here life is slower and a lot more peaceful. I admit that the weather isn't always perfect or the animal you are hunting doesn't always cooperate. But no matter how it goes out here, it's never as stressful as the outside world. Now that you have experienced hunting can you imagine a life without it?
As a Christian, I cannot imagine a better place to thank God for all my blessings than out there in his creation. I feel so blessed to experience this sweet relief. When I have bad days and nothing can go right, I just think of the next chance I will have to let it all go. I have spent many hours in my tree stand conversing with God and letting him know what it means to me to have the opportunity to enjoy the world he has created for all of us.
I know there are people out there who are trying to remind me of the days I was unsuccessful. But let me tell you: I would rather have the worst day in the woods over a pretty good day at work, and I enjoy my job most of the time. The worst day I had in the woods was also one of the greatest. I was bow hunting two weeks after the opener last year. At that date, I had never taken a buck with my Hoyt bow. That day, I had the opportunity to take two and neither one came home with me. Here in East Tennessee, it is a rare thing to see more bucks than does in a sitting, but that day I did. Even though I was so upset I missed the bucks, I couldn't believe the magical day that had transpired. I had seen four bucks and a doe with twins in one morning. The bucks were a good eight-point, a three-point with a really odd-looking rack, a spike and a six-point. I shot directly in front of the three-point and the mature eight. Even though it didn't turn out the way I had hoped, I still had an awesome day and knowing what I know now, I would still go. Now I know my sights had been bumped to shoot severely to the left. After re-setting the sights, I killed two does the next morning, which was a good ice-breaker for the season.
As a hairdresser in a high-end salon in Tennessee, I have some very stressful days at work. After I have made everyone as beautiful as possible, I go home and prepare for my getaway. I am able to set my own hours at work, which means I work in as much hunting as I can without losing clients. You talk about some funny looks when I tell my clients that I am a very dedicated hunter! Some love it and want to hear more, others go to preaching because they are not well educated about hunting. I usually try to explain the facts without upsetting them, but some people are not willing to change their mindset. So I give up to keep the peace.
The next time you are out there among nature letting the breeze tickle your face, remember there isn't a therapist out there who has anything on hunting!
Rachel Edmons is a member of Hoyt's National Shooting Team and a WomenHunters.Org staff member. She is also a member of TnHunting.Com's Field Staff.
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