On September 14 in Porter Hall 100, a tall and lean man dressed in deerskin stepped up to stage. He addressed the crowd in a soft and slow country drawl. This is the same man you can read about in The Last American Man, someone who will humbly say that he is just a man who is one with the nature around him. This man is Eustace Conway, who grew up in suburban North Carolina and at age 17 moved out into the forest to live off of the land. From then on, Conway used no modern tools or goods but lived from what he could gather or kill, living in a teepee and learning to become one with the land around him.

Conway did not do this to run away from society, but rather to regain a spiritual fulfillment that modern man has lost.

"Modern man has blinders on to stop them from reaching spiritual fulfillment," said Conway.

According to Conway, Americans have forgotten where we fit into the grand scheme of life. We go through our days not realizing where the food we eat comes from or how the clothes we wear got to us. By living in the wilderness, Conway has come to appreciate the food we eat, the clothes we wear, and most importantly, the life that surrounds us. When he described the first time he killed a deer, he talked about how he used every bit of that deer, wasting almost none of it.

"That investment, that work helps you understand that spiritual connection that the deer and you are one," Conway explained.

Conway takes living with nature to a level that society once lived at and has now forgotten.

Some of the most interesting parts of the lecture were when Conway compared modern society with nature. He talked about as he was coming to Carnegie Mellon, he saw an exhibit at the airport about how science is all around us. Conway's reaction was one that brought out many chuckles: "Well, no duh!"

He even hit on a subject that is near and dear to many Carnegie Mellon students: the iPod. To him, the iPod is our way to block out all the noise of society, something that he understands but would never do to nature. The very sounds of nature are what tell him what is going on around him: deer moving, bees buzzing, and many other sounds are how Conway gets his greatest connection with nature.

Some people find his way of life dangerous, but Conway's view on it is that modern society is more dangerous. Conway points out that nature is consistent and direct: when he sees a nest of yellow jackets, he quickly moves around it so he doesn't get stung. There are many warnings of danger and a set way of how life moves. In modern society, we find ourselves in dangerous situations and have no idea how we got there because the dangers don't make an obvious sound like a yellow jacket does. In nature, there is consistence and a rule of laws that never change; in modern society, there are often gray areas and hidden dangers that aren't seen until one find oneself in them.

Now in his late 30s, Conway has reached one of his dreams: he owns and founded Turtle Island Preservation, a place that Conway is using to help people find a middle ground between modern society and nature. There, people can go to live or just to spend a few days taking classes to better understand nature. Conway teaches visitors the way he used to live so that they may understand where humans stand in the life cycle. He teaches people about the "peace and predictability of nature," which he believes helps them gain a harmony that will allow them to live a much richer and fulfilling life.

For Conway, reality is in nature, and it is his job to become a role model for people to follow, which is a job he takes very seriously. For him, it is about recreating a family structure and a structure of true Americans for the youth of the world to follow. A "true American" to Conway is someone who lives in harmony with nature instead of ignoring it or trying to beat it. Conway tells a story of how one day, while hunting deer, he could sense a deer over a hill even before he could see, hear, or smell the deer. He could feel the very vibrations of the forest around him, and was thus able to hunt down a deer that had been evading him for most of the day. For Conway, this feeling of oneness with nature is what everyone should feel, but doesn't. It is through this harmony that Americans will again find themselves.

Conway is now exploring a way to balance nature and modern society. He currently uses a truck, electricity, and toilet paper. He lives in a home, but makes sure that he still lives in tune with nature through a variety of methods. He uses solar and wind power to generate his electricity, has his own garden that is fertilized by organic waste, and raises animals. He is actively trying to combine an environmentally purist attitude with modern life.

Conway ended his speech on a very good note: find your own middle ground to live your life, and be careful of the impact that it has, to both nature and the people around you. 

For more information about future AB Lectures, visit the Activities Board's website.

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