In the article Finding Your Howl by Jonathon Flaum it embarks on the Journey of a red wolf named Mumon. Mumon has lived his life thus far in captivity. Mumon and the other wolves have lost their ability to howl because they have been kept from pursing their natural instincts. They in a sense have lost what makes them wolves. As an experiment Mumon and other red wolves are released back in the wild. In the wild they have no leader and many want to go back to the captive lives they have become accustomed to. Mumon refuses to go back instead he runs deep into the woods. Becoming hungry he is forced to hunt for the first time. He comes across a deer and the chase is on. Mumon has never hunted before and his instincts takeover. He kills the deer and begins to eat it. While eating the deer he becomes overwhelmed with sadness. He truly did not want to kill the deer but he had to eat to survive. He is torn between feeling grateful for the food but ashamed at himself for taking the deer's life. While Mumon is falling asleep a raven flies down to eat what is left of the deer. Seeing Mumon mourn over the deer the raven speaks. He tells Mumon that in order to find his howl again he must shed the shame of being what he truly is. He explains to Mumon that he is a wild animal and feeling shame for what he has done is akin to feeling shame for being born into the wild.
Flaum is trying to explain that it is possible to lose your howl or inner identity. From years of being in captivity Mumon lost his howl. He doesn't get it back until he breaks away from the cage and ventures into the jungle. This can be true with people too. As we grow we lose that wild imagination we once had as child. We learn to think structurally and within the metaphorical box. We learn almost that having that absurd imagination is immature or childish. I think that my howl has a lot to do with my vivid child like sense of imagination. With a strong imagination creatives possibilities are endless.
When ever I am afraid of losing my "Howl" I listen to this song and it always comes back to me. I think of Jimi as the deer and his guitar as the raven. With lyrics like "Well, I'm gonna stand up next to a mountain and chop it down with the edge of my hand, I'm gonna pick up the pieces and make an island, might even raise a little sand" this really speaks to me creatively.
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