Greetings from north Georgia! And a "thank-you" to the Publisher and Editor of American Scouting Digest for their continued interest and support of ancient lifeways and earth-skills through ‘the Primitive Scouter.’

I recently attended the ceremony for a new Eagle Scout...remember the traditional pre-contact Indian house project in Columbus, Georgia discussed in ASD(Fall 2003)? It was an honor and pleasure to stand again with other Eagle Scouts and recite the Eagle’s Pledge. All during the Court of Honor my mind drifted back to my youth, through the years of adult volunteerism and now these opportunities to write about my experiences...share the wisdom of my mentors...to encourage fun and a solid ‘historical perspective’ to the ongoing education of America’s youth in Scouting. I wondered what subject might catch my attention for the Spring issue?

An idea sprouted over the next few weeks: apply primitive skills directly to elements of the Oath, Law, or Motto. Demonstrate that practical usage of ancient lifeways in modern times is not anachronistic - that such knowledge provides a foundation for "modern urban survival skills." In the Scout Oath millions of us have recited the words "...to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight." How many of us scrutinize these ideals for their deeper instruction, for a paradigm-shifting lesson that changes us for the better, forever? Let’s take a longer look at this "mentally awake" concept.

Being "awake" is more than not being asleep. Awake also asserts alert vigilance; being aware. When a person is awake, that person notices things - the song of a bird that indicates species, season, time of day or the approach of a threat; a fellow hiker who dropped their bandana; the scat of deer along an ephemeral woodland trace. An aware person is more likely to prevent accidents, to offer ideas and solutions to crises. Being functionally cognizant improves morale, teamwork, productivity, sensitivity and overall well-being...and not only for yourself. Watching out for others reflects our Slogan and Motto, too.

I doubt that readers will disagree that our modern youth somehow appear...out of touch. Perhaps it is the overwhelming urbanization of rural areas. Maybe kids are desensitized by too much T.V., or particular shows. I’ve heard many people complain that video games are ‘ruining the youth of America,’ leaving kids dull, uneducated, disinterested and disconnected from their families and communities. I’ll assume this is familiar rhetoric.

What to do, when even the Boy Scouts of America are modernizing their summer camps, digitizing their Scout Huts, completing "network" construction for Eagle Projects? Harumph! Well, I’ll not let the rhetoric cloud my judgement too much: I’m writing this article on a computer. I very much enjoy the Internet. It is a great idea to have computers in Scout Huts, if for no other reason than to give youth more opportunities to develop computing skills that - obviously - are extremely relevant to our contemporary America.

To me, a subtle point of "mentally awake" is the intellectual tool that awareness gives to us: being awake is being alert, watching not only to prevent accidents, but for learning opportunities and experiences that help us grow and serve others. Seeing life as an integrated exercise where intellect, emotions, body and soul work in harmony helps provide joy and accomplishment. It is not ‘being modern’ that is the problem - it is when being modern ignores the past and its treasures that problems compound.

Practicing primitive requires awareness. While keeping in mind that primitive skills and survival skills are not synonyms, they are certainly deeply intertwined and mutually supportive. Ancient lifeways are the very foundation for the skills required in survival situations.

For example, driving down the road you see a menacingly spikey plant at the end of someone’s driveway. Most people ride right by, merely momentarily distracted by its appearance. To some, however, a rash of information immediately flows from their awareness of details: "Spanish bayonet." A member of the yucca family, extremely useful: sharp tips of knife-like leaves (when stripped along with one or two of the bast strands) makes a serviceable emergency needle-and-thread; the long leaf-fibers, shredded of their pulp, can be hand-twisted into one of the strongest cords from the plant kingdom; that ‘discard’ leaf-pulp, if mixed with a dash of water, will slather and foam to cleanse the hands or hair or body; the root, too, is a source of this sudsing saponin; the white flowers at the top of the elegant stalk are edible - perfect for a salad garnish or nibble; the flower-stalk is one of the most efficient materials for ‘twirling up a fire’ in either the hand-drill, bow-drill or fire-plow methods. Not just a strongly-charactered landscape regular, yucca is one of the so-called "supermarket" plants of the wild. Not a bad thing to know, all things considered.

Do you care? Is it not just as fun to play with parts of the ubiquitous yuccas as it is to go on-line and type Yucca brevifolia into a search engine to see what "that plant that guy mentioned in the American Scouting Digest article" looks like? Don’t forget, you can also find The International Society of Primitive Technology on the web, too, and enjoy detailed articles about this plant’s uses, native history, cultivation, making cordage and so forth.

Being "mentally awake" has nothing to do with elitism. It has nothing to do with acting superior or ‘holier-than-thou.’ Awareness - genuine awareness - brings forth exactly the opposite of those negatives: sensitivity, gentleness, humor, respect, refinement, thoughtfulness, efficiency, sufficiency. Success is about perception, planning, defining goals, dedication and flexibility. Mental awareness is a prerequisite for each of these elements of success.

Humankind has certainly succeeded with regards to propogation. Have we succeeded, however, in being humane? How aware are Americans - or any global citizen, for that matter - of the ramifications of industrial pollution on fragile ecosystems, of electromagnetic fields emanating from monitor-screens, of the long-term developmental effects of inactivity in T.V. or computer-usage, of millions of acres of asphalt acting as heat-sinks where - in the past - forests chlorophylically ingested Sol’s radiance and utilized that energy to function as vast air-filters for the Earth?

You have taken an oath "On your honor" to obey God, serve others and your country, to preserve your abilities by staying - as best as you can - "physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight." Get out in nature and get some exercise, be aware of your surroundings - of everything you can! - and fall deeply in love with the Earth’s fragile ecosystems, so that being morally straight first and foremost means ‘in right relation to God.’ It is inconcievable that this ‘right relationship’ could exist without due respect for the Creation, in all its rampantly diverse glory!