The Forest Isn't Trying to Kill You: A Campfire Conversation with Michael Douglas
Michael Douglas grew up in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey surrounded by cedar swamps and endless woods. Then development came. The dirt roads got paved. The neighbors stopped talking. The community he loved became, in his words, more of a municipality than a community.
That loss made him angry. He joined the Marine Corps, moved to Maine, and eventually built Maine Primitive, a place where people come to reconnect with the woods, with each other, and with themselves.
Nearly ten years ago, I showed up at Maine Primitive for a weekend course expecting hardcore survival from a Marine. What I found was a man leading with kindness and compassion that helped change how I see strength. Over the past year, we've built a friendship rooted in mutual mentorship. He teaches me wilderness skills. I help him with strategy and business planning.
This December, we sat by a fire the day after a big snowstorm and talked about love, fear, and what it takes to choose love when anger would be easier. Mike talked about why love and fear aren't enemies but dancing partners. He talked about why attitude is the first rule of survival. And he drew a distinction between the child warrior who fights the world and the adult warrior who tends it.
One line keeps coming back to me. "Tending your sacred fire starts with self. You can't spread ease if you carry dis-ease in your heart about who you are."
The forest isn't trying to kill you. It's just trying to grow. And so are we.
Read the full piece on Substack.
Learn more about the adventure at www.heart-strong.org
