Gave this some thought and I guess for me it boils down to gratitude
I'm grateful to have spent the majority of my adult life here
Alaska has given me everything a young man yearns for, a beauty to win ( grateful for my Indian princess) an adventure to live. I've lived so many of them here, mostly involved in some type of hunting
It's given me a comfortable living, even if making it wasn't always comfortable while doing so.
Everything I am & own I owe to this place, I'm only an adopted son, set foot here first at 10 years old, back at 17, 5 days after hs graduation.
I may be adopted, but love this place deeply, she's cared for me well even if I've received some harsh lessons.
Well put!
To me it seems when the land gets into your veins you find three main attributes.
Humility. If the land don't get you, the mechanized kit we've come up with to haul us around the state sure has a way of busting you up or burying you. It puts you in a healthy mindset as to your proper place in the order of things.
Gratitude. You give thanks for living hear and all the opportunities that abound.
Wonderment. No matter how many times you look at a mountain, stretch of water or spot of land you're still filled with wonderment at the beauty.
