We need books these days much like we need our daily bread.

Food for the soul that nurtures us and provides an orientation towards meaning, and hope. With so much happening through social feeds, text, and what feels like quick and fast communication, I think we need a long drawn out story to find ourselves lost in. Especially in times like this, all the more.

It would also appear there is a cultural shift happening around us. Much relating to COVID, folks are looking for more open spaces, exploring the outdoors more, and some are leaving the cities. Moving to the suburbs from denser areas, taking up outdoor recreation. Biking, hiking, and the RV life. And there also seems a renewed interest in the West.

I say, good for them. And for us.  

But sometimes, before we act, let’s ask what is that longing for to begin with? 

I believe as humans, and maybe even more specifically as men, we need to sit in the longings and the stories that pull us into more. Stories that help sort out our emotions and stirrings for better clarity for the days ahead. With so much change, we probably want to change too. And sometimes it's hard to sort it out with so much anxiety before us.

While there are some great tragedies relating to COVID, maybe one of the positive things is that it has been bringing us back into our meaning and purpose. Drawing us into a deeper and richer story, that we might look back and be grateful for in the years to come. Asking what we are chasing, and why. Looking in ways for that bread that satisfies. 

What are we really hungering for? What is culture telling us by its desire to find this new way of land and time with family?

Maybe change is in the air, and we need to act. But what if before we all jumped the gun, we reflected a bit, so we could act with even greater wisdom and desire too. 

Thinking about a trip out West with the family? Wrestling with life’s meaning? Wanting to pick up fly-fishing as a hobby? Camping? Feeling alone? Or just dreaming from that window of yours into what is out there and beyond?  

May I recommend a good story that I think has some good reflections in it?

Sometimes I like to live in another story for a bit before I go act on my own. 

If you like Buffalo Jackson, or the wilderness, or believe in the value of relationships, mentors, and the meaning of land and its place in our lives, consider reading this one.

This is one of my favorites, for many reasons. It will feed those areas. Like a well roasted cup of coffee that can be sipped for hours. And as opposed to that $4M fishing property in Montana, this one us under $20. And you might get more out of it anyways.

I think the title and subtitle says all that is needed…

The Earth is Enough: Growing up in a world of Flyfishing, Trout, and Old Men. – Harry Middleton

Certainly did for me. And then became one of my favorites.

Regardless of which book, I encourage you to pick a book up that speaks to something you have been dreaming about. Live in someone's world for awhile, and see if it still stirs you. Maybe even deeps the desire all the more for the bread we all hunger for. 

- Xan Hood, Founder of Buffalo Jackson