By Johnny Mack
legacy | ‘legesē | noun:
A thing handed down by a predecessor.
With each day that passes and my children grow older, I find myself being drawn to this idea of legacy. I’m constantly searching within my own soul and mind to decipher between the healthy and good aspects of myself and the not so healthy and beneficial traits that I want to consciously pass down and leave to my children.
Being raised in a household where sports was king, it didn’t leave room for much else. Don’t get me wrong. I am super thankful that my father took the time to teach me how to throw a tight spiral and shoot a true jump shot. The thing is, sports are but for a fleeting moment in life. Even though I fell in love with sports, the problem was that I found an identity in something that is and will always be short lived and temporary.
This is where taking inventory of your knowledge and traits is important. If leaving the best parts of us to the next generation is the cornerstone of societal growth, it is imperative to be conscious of our legacy.
To be incredibly effective at this requires a great deal of reflection. To quote my brother Lucas Mack, “Inward reflection leads to outward correction.” My point being, we must be aware and conscious of what we are passing down to the next generation of hunters and outdoorsmen if we want to ensure they fall in love with it.
What sets hunting and fishing apart from other hobbies or past times, is that they are lifelong activities and they produce benefits for those not directly involved. Just like knowing how to construct a shelter and build a house, the knowledge and skill to know how to provide food is priceless.
Like anything in life, it is easy to get caught up in the identity of what you participate in. The beauty of identifying as a hunter is that it is a life skill that can be used and applied to the benefit of you, your community, and ultimately society.
Mentorship is conservation. But mentorship AND conservation are the lasting legacy we have to leave. So who are you going to leave your hunting legacy to?
You cannot out give good.
Sincerely,
Johnny Mack, The Soulful Hunter
#soulfulhunter
