Eustace came to the Furman University campus to speak to us about his life on his 1000 acre wildlife preserve called Turtle Island, located near Boone, North Carolina. There, he lives a completely naturalistic lifestyle that has been forgotten in our developed world. Mr. Conway brings people "back to the basics" in the best way possible- by opening their eyes to the fact that we are connected to the natural world around us, and how we chose to live not only will positively or negatively impact it, but us as well.
While I was listening to Eustace, I was completely blown away not only by how amazing his stories were, but also by how truly humble he was. I think finding someone as genuine as Mr.Conway is a true rarity in life, and should be greatly treasured. He has so many accomplishments, a few including:
Moving into the woods at age 17 and living there for the next 17 winters
At 18, canoeing 1000 miles on the Mississippi River
Completing the entire 2000 mile journey of the Appalachian Trail
Kayakeing the entire southern coast of Alaska encountering whales and icebergs
Setting the world record for coast to coast horse travel in 103 days
and just being super awesome in general
Eustace told us that Earth is the support system for all life. He believes one of the biggest problems with society is the complete disconnect we have to this system. His grandfather is the one who taught him to be meaningful (in my mind I was like yo Eustace same here lets be best friends!). He has a spiritual connection with the land, because of the mutual relationship he shares with it. He beseeches modern society to answer this question to increase their self awareness: How much are we using and how much are we putting back? He warns that society can only consume so much before the cutoff point, which he argues is very near. He profoundly states that- we only have one life and it is an amazing thing, so don't follow like sheep in the wrong direction. He continues "if you don't change the direction you are heading, you are likely to end up where you are going."
Of course I was sitting there silently grinning while also yelling "PREACH EUSTACE" in my head. I had to met him. It was imperative. So afterwards I dragged my friends to the line forming in front of him. Actually, they reluctantly walked down the theater aisle, I jumped over the seats clumsy. We eventually walked onto stage and shook hands with him. IT WAS AWESOME. I felt like a pilgrim out in the woods of The Great Awakening listening to a very nice version of Jonathan Edwards. I swear, Mr. Conway looked right into your SOUL. He asked what I was thinking about doing, and I responded (in somewhat alien language since I was fangirling so hard) "sustainability." He said,"alright, well sustainability is where it is at, it is brings all this together." I just nodded dumbfoundedly since I had his approval. I asked if I could have a picture for this blog, he said "alright blog here we come!" (I died a little inside out of joy).
P.S- did you know that Eustace Conway is on History Channels hit show, Mountain Men?!? He said he struggled to be on the show, since he does not own a TV. However, it was a good way to spread his message, and he says, if you are going to watch TV, why not make it good TV.
Pictures to follow!!!
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