Off-Grid Eco-Hut Experience

Mission Statement:

- Find a secluded cabin in the middle of nowhere
- Off-grid and total isolation
- Engage with nature on a profound level
- Engage with my brain on a creative level
- Reboot....like, hard-reset myself!
- Chill the fuck out.
- Try not to die
- Walk, sketch, document, play guitar

There's many reasons behind this ... it is a spiritual journey of sorts....but....ok.....let me explain...

I'm good company with myself. ...I'm the Lord of my own church....but the reality is, I'm not particularly good at being alone....
...I'm keen to experienc solitude...
...I was brought up by mum and dad along with two older brothers.
I've always been in long-term relationships.
I've an utterly amazing wife whom I adore and we're inseparable.
I have awesome children
There's always been a dog or two knocking about.
.... and I have surrounded myself with many close friends all my life.....so being alone isn't really me..... I'm not particularly insular ....
..and, being a thoroughbred city boy I'm well adapted to society and civilisation.

Also, there's a need for extensive time and space to re-energise and to seek the answer to the question I often ask myself - does the ease on which we live cause us not to?

And another reason.....maybe, just maybe, I could explore the effects of deep solitude on my body  and mind and, quite possibly, find some spiritual answers I've been seeking all my life?...
..I'm not talking about finding religion ....
...  I'm not religious...

.... don't get me wrong, while I love humanity's religious diversity and drive for the answer to it all... like....
Is there an afterlife?
Is there a God?
Why is everything in existence?
Who's calling the shots? ...
...but personally, for me, to stay in the wonderment of it all instead of asking the question why is sometimes a better place to be.

... anyways, I digress... 

What I'm talking about is spiritual answers about myself and generally welcoming the personal epiphanies—both good and bad—that come with alone time.

There's also my Dice Man challenge disclosed in an earlier blog...
... I wanted to roll a 4 - Two weeks of solitude in a tent in the wilderness.
...that seemed enticing?
....but still....anything was better than the parachute jump.
Stuff that!

There's another reason .... I needed to get some fingerstyle solo guitar recorded ... now this environment provides a pleasing location of vast open spaces, ancient forests and mountainous terrain.
Perfect surroundings and location.

So off I go....

It's over an 9 hour journey from North Wales ...mostly motorways, a ferry crossing and single-track roads...the highlight being the soul-enriching drive through the hidden nooks and dells of Mull.

It's quite a vast island.

The location is an off-grid eco-hut neatly tucked over a hill, besides hazel woodland in the South-West of Mull.

So....am I equal to everything this harsh land can throw at me?....with its isolation and ghostly silence?
... am I ready to be hit by an arctic blast of bone-stabbing snow and other utterly hostile weather conditions?
Will I get out into the Highlands where the locals live largely without laws?

Well.
Actually ...

The weather has been gloriously hot.
The welcoming and hospitable people of Scotland are without a doubt the warmest of people.

And, I must admit, I'm quite near people.

The warm and attentive owners of the eco-hut live just a short walk away.
There are also homes speckled into the distant terrain, so there's a neighbouring community.

So...my wife was clever enough to ensure I'm not too far from people when she's booked this for me...
...you see, I wanted a barren hunters cabin in the middle of Canada.
...but she's very clever and had foresight into the perils that would arise like bear attacks and my inept navigational skills.
I'd of got myself lost and eaten by lunchtime.
For sure.   

... I can honestly say, it's utterly beautiful here.
It's secluded and you're surrounded by huge spotless beaches, amazing wildlife and crystal clear seas. 

On the very first night three red deer hoofed it over the brow of the surrounding hill not thirty yards away....they stayed perfectly still, silhouetted by the dusk's horizon ...  then fucked off rather sharpish as I fumbled loudly for my phone to take snaps.

The morning came by and I opened the door to an eagle soaring above as the butterflies fluttered about to the sound of blackbirds chirping.
Wildlife positively flourishes here because there's not enough humanity to fuck it up.

If you can't be moved and affected by this landscape then you're dead from the soul downwards....
...there's a zen-like calling and a primal instinct ... you put your nose to the wind and become part of nature's balance.
You really do feel like you're charting the outer limits of Scotland here.

This area is now my universe.

My small cabin comprises of a bed, seating and a log-burning stove.

There's a separate toilet hut and neatly tucked behind the eco-hut is a tiny cabin that houses a gas camping stove and solar powered shower.

... surprisingly, there's also a solar-powered usb charger....this is a relief!
If I'm to record and document anything - photos, guitar recordings, filming, then it's with my iPad and mobile phone.

... now, this brings me to the other reason to this trip...

Disconnecting.

There's not much of a phone signal around here.
So no Wi-Fi
.... and with that, no social networking. No checking for notifications and no nothing... 

My phone went on flight mode as soon as I left the ferry, but I can assure you, there's meagre chance of a connection.
....I see this as a small but vital step towards my week away.
Plus, I just wanted to gauge how long I could last without it.   

Some might say that in terms of evolutionary development the mere action of switching to flight mode will steer humanity away from its recent course of absolute batshit craziness.
....but let's just see this as a small victory, like a stepping stone to taking a step back.

It's not too much of an upheaval for a 70s/80s kid to endure though. Surely?
...back then, if you wanted to connect with someone, you walked to their house and knocked on their door.

The global internet and social networking is a phenomenal success.
Essential to how we operate today.

.... but, can we can exist without it?

To some of you this sounds worse than a lifetime of anal warts.

I acknowledge that and fully appreciate it

But there's an ocean of crap to wade through .... buzzfeeds, emails, mental oblivion, celeb gossip, constantly checking your Facebook newsfeed to endlessly catching up on landfill notifications chiming away every five seconds on you mobile phone ....
....you may as well drill a hole in the top of your skull and pour in a mix of battery acid and donkey piss, its far more engaging and productive than engage in the majority of it...

It's endlessly tiresome useless information pounding the frontal-lobe of your brain constantly like a 12-ton punch to the snot-locker...

.... but is it a monumental failing to how we exist today? .... it's how we live our lives ...

....did humanity lose the plot several chapters ago?

Anyways, I've a week here ahead of me.

******************************************

It's now my final day here.

It's been quite a long week....
...for every minute...every moment of your life, there's an eternity that passes here.
...literally one second equates to a thousand.

I've written poetry, read books, sketched, found my musical muse and relaxed to the point of melting into my comfy socks.
...every evening I've spent sat alone on my tiny little wooden porch sipping whisky, gazing into the vacant night sky, listening to nature and pondering the universe.
At times it's been breathtaking.
Pure picturesque prozac.
I've walked and climbed the vast coastline and mountains that reach out majestically above.

Simply stunning.  

Who can deny that these wild beaches, deep lochs and magnificent mountains are some of the most wonderful and beautiful sights in the world.
....Scotland has been voted the world’s most beautiful country in the world for good reason.

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar,
I love not man the less, but Nature more...
                                               - Lord Byron 

I've only engaged in conversation with three people the whole week.

So.
Finally.
In conclusion....

That utter piece of gadget crap you're probably reading this on... your mobile phone.....at times it should be nothing better than an expensive coffee coaster....
Once in a while just switch it off and look at the world around you without it's constraints.
There is beauty all around.
You're literally standing on the doorstep of a beating heart.

...but, remember, your phone is a tool when you need someone.
You can document your life so easily.
It's a lifeline, it's your companion and it keeps us all connected.
Try not to take it for granted. However, it's a beautiful complex woven tapestry of networks that keeps us all easily within reach.
Modern life is awesome.

Yes, there's George Orwell's dark visions.
Yes, the machines are in control.
And yes, it pisses us all off having to wait five whole seconds for things to load up.

But stay embraced to how we're connected.

I've missed my wife so hard my heart has felt like exploding.
I sent her two letters, and I actually received one back from her...

... I cried like a fucking baby.

-To the whole world you might be just one person, but to one person you might just be the whole world-
                                              -- Pablo Casals

I miss my awesome hormonal adolescent kids.
I desperately need to see my ill father-in-law Des. 
I miss my weekly shop pushing my dad around the supermarket in his wheelchair because he's old and knackered.
I can't wait to see my eldest son next week.
I miss my mates.

This trip has changed my life.
I'm now grateful for absolutely everything.

Try this place out. 

We all need this once in a while. 

The accommodating and warm owners respect your privacy and the location is beyond remarkable in its beauty. It really has stoked my soul-coals beyond compare.
It will stay with me forever.

http://www.greenleavesmull.co.uk/camping-hut.html

Right. It's my last night here. I'm going to the pub in Bunessan to find a connection to phone my wife, a couple of pints and much-needed steak and chips (I've survived on army ration packs all week...quite tasty actually)

And finally, please read this next part carefully....

Life is short....and if you've managed to wake up to a new day, then make a difference.
Try not to be an ungrateful bastard.
Challenge yourself.
Make your goals...
..then stay the motherfucking course!

...look to the people around you....look at them. ..talk with them....hug them and praise them....because loneliness sucks....you notice when they're not there.

Peace out x