Never Let Go

Written by: Ted Nugent, Spirit of the Wild TV

How about that incredible and unique feeling of overwhelming joy and relief when we culminate a difficult blood trail and finally walk up on our hard-earned prize.

As powerful a Hallelujah moment that there is.

Can you remember everyone?

I can.

Is there anything else in life quite like the out of body experience when a shooter deer finally enters our ambush domain and we make the serious decision to kill?

I don’t think so.

Do you remember them all?

I do.

I am hard pressed to identify a moment in life that matches the solemnness of tree stand time, when birds land right in our face, a squirrel nearly runs us over on our shared limb, a kill-crazy hawk or owl whooshes past us within inches or the unexpected startling blow of a matriarch doe alarming the deer world to our rude intrusion.

My 72-year-old memory bank nearly bursts at the seams with spellbinding, dazzling memories of eternal hunts and adventures in the wild grounds of my beloved hunting lifestyle.

I learned and determined at a very young age that I would embrace and imprint every moment of every outing, every step, sight, sound, smell, sensation, emotion and every titillating thrill of my hunts.

Our natural, earthy reasoning predator connection with God’s miraculous renewable creation as hands-on participants is a gift beyond normal life description, and while I am on ultra-high alert every minute of every hunt, it can also be best described as almost trance-like, beyond the ether, beyond the mortal, deep into the physics of spirituality.

Crazy smart and phenomenally lucky, I was able to carve out a dream hunting lifestyle many, many years ago when I cleverly prioritized my yearly calendar to the point where I literally get to hunt nearly every day for six to eight months annually. And then some!

The nonstop plethora of sensual stimuli that we are bombarded with on every hunt, from the subtle to the outlandish, just doesn’t occur quite the same during any other human endeavor.

In my own way, I get to cultivate, channel and share such deep, unlimited cosmic inspiration with the whole world through my music, my writings, my radio shows, my Spirit of the Wild television show, my Spirit Campfire podcast and my shared story telling in the media and speaking presentations here there and everywhere.

Each moment and each memory are simply much too powerful to hold inside.

Constantly spotlighting and regurgitating those wonderful memories and experiences in such a celebratory way not only keeps them alive and soaring but reminds me and everyone paying attention all the time just how doggone special and wonderful they are.

My dad, God bless his soul, was a casual hunter, and though I am sure each outing was special and memorable, I don’t think he loved them or cataloged them quite the way that I do.

We never know how much time we have here on earth, and as we celebrate this amazing hunting season 2020, right now would be the perfect time to escalate and accelerate our passion for this soul cleansing natural outdoor life.

Zeroing in on every detail and minutia of every aspect of each hunt will not only put an increased current smile on your face, but at the end of the day, I am convinced that all those details will provide a much more fulfilling sense of aliveness and happiness that will never go away.

Hang on to those memories. Never let go.