Survival: Are We Aware Enough?

Survival Blog ^ | 3/9/15 | S.S.

[Kartographer]

Awareness comes in many forms. Awareness of one’s surroundings, including physical, situational, and political, is perhaps what is taught most in many survivalist courses and books. These are critical to dealing with threats, both minor and major. What is often missed in teaching awareness is how we will emotionally react to these threats. We are so lucky in 2015 in the U.S. to have relatively significant means by which to live and prosper. Compared to most countries, our ability to eat, sleep, find resources, and thrive is very easy, even for people at lower income levels. So, I ask these questions to you: What part of your life will be most affected if the power grid fails? What will you miss most about your life should a nuclear accident occur? Is it the Internet? Is it your favorite burger? These are small questions, and they may not seem important relative to whether you have sufficient iodine tablets for water purification, but this leads me to the most important aspect of awareness– self-awareness.

[Hugin]

It wasn’t until a half hour later, when I saw EMTs trying to revive a young man did I realize that what I had actually seen was his body at the moment it was ejected from the front seat. Even now, when I remember the accident, I don’t see a human. Instead, the image of a scarecrow is imprinted in my brain because humans don’t fly through the air!

That's also a great example of why eye witness accounts are so unreliable.

[Kartographer]

Possiblity of dying of cancer in 20-30 years from now, chance of dying of any number of water borne diseases now? Hmmmm I take the chlorine Alex to live.

[Roos_Girl]

Right then. Grace not your forte, huh?

[3D-JOY]

In my heart I know it impossible to change things anymore. I am a normally positive person so I try to be in denial and go along to get along...I don’t convince myself though!

I am a “prepper” and carry...so I do want to survive, and even plan to enjoy the process.

I know I am a bit weird!

[3D-JOY]

JOY is easier to achieve...GRACE is much tougher for me...I keep trying!

[Marcella]

It helps to think, just think, how your surroundings would be if everything stopped working.

I've had several times to live through such when a hurricane would come through. I would know it was coming, and got my supplies in place to change over from having electricity to not having it but keeping a good standard of living without it.

After the hurricane passes, IT IS QUIET, VERY QUIET. It almost hurts when there is no sound anywhere. Some of you will say, “Good, I like it quiet”, but if you have not experienced total quiet, not one sound, it will be a new experience and it's disturbing until you adjust.

If the entire country was “off line” so to speak, I have Plan A for that. I am really old, and remember when all we had was a radio. I left my small world, then, by reading. I could go anywhere in the world in the books I had. I would climb up in one of our trees with some home grown plums or peaches or figs and read books. That is where I would go again (however not in a tree now) in order to mentally leave my house and go wherever that book took me. I have books I haven't read, and continue to get them, so I have new reading material.

My world and yours would be our immediate surroundings, not likely to go very far from home then. Consider now how you want to stock that new world so you can live fairly well instead of just survive, waiting for someone else to save you.

[3D-JOY]

I could have written every word of that!

DARE I SAY, “GREAT MINDS THINK ALIKE”?

I guess I will add a few more books when I see a garage sale or something. If I can not find anything now I might read a cookbook...that would not be good when it is not possible to get other supplies than I have planned.

[JGT]

I've found the best way to stay positive is by prepping! Everything I do in terms of self-sufficiency and prepardness is, in my eyes, an act of defiance. I know my post can be construed as negative, but it was more of a reality check for myself. Instead of seeing this as hopeless and no way to change our country, I think “heck no! I will never, ever give up!” That's what prepping is for me; a way overcome and adapt, fight to my last breath to get my country back. I've found with normalcy bias, I often have to walk a very fine line between realism vs. defeatism, but I just can't allow defeatism into my mind.

[Roos_Girl]

I hear ya, lady. Me too! Joy is easier, I’ve got a 3 year old in my life now. :)

[3D-JOY]

I have spent part of each of the last 12 years with a grandson. He graduates from High School this year. He goes on to bigger and better things...I am wondering about myself...being left behind.

I have to make some life changing plans...the STATE OF THE UNION makes it difficult to move and make big changes!

[Kartographer]

I am human and like all I have my moments, but I find it troubling when people who are preppers fail to understand in a SHTF situation there are things you must do to survive. Let's take the situation we are talking about right now. Its hit the fan someone needs water manages to get some, but they have no filter to make it potable, but they do have bleach so do they use the bleach treat the water and not die of dehydration or do they sit around and let worry take hold over the chance that they might get cancer years later because of of the way they treated the water that they need to live? In fact under a SHTF situation you don't need the extra stress and worry you do want you need to do. I've had others go crazy over the fact I store white sugar. I wonder if they are in a SHTF Scenario and they haven't eaten for days and they find a box of Twinkies are they going eat them or are they going to spend thier time fretting over the sugar, preservatives, food coloring and so on that are in the Twinkies? To me its almost like worrying about getting your hearing protection on before you confront an assailant with your gun, I mean we wouldn't want to go deaf would we? In a real live situation you must prioritize the threats other wise you will not survive and as simple as that.

[Roos_Girl]

Come on over, you can experience the “terrible threes” again. :)

Good luck with your planning. I’ll pray that God show you the next path He wants you to travel and that you go with joy and grace. :)

[3D-JOY]

thanks, that is very kind of you.
I lived so many milestones with him it seems impossible:
Swim lessons, Cub Scout Camp, Boy Scout Camp, mini golf, water parks, paintball, roller skating, tennis, golf, on and on and finally driving and the new car!

It has been a great deal of fun for this old Physical Education Teacher! I had all girls so this was NEW and WONDERFUL!

[Roos_Girl]

I’m a professional civil engineer, potable water is what I do; or what I did before I became a professional mom. I gave the info as an FYI. It’s info probably most people don’t know. My comment said “be aware”, no “oh my gosh you’re all gonna die if you use chlorine”. It doesn’t affect me one speck how you’ve gone about your prepping. I would think it’s rather ridiculous, but you could have an entire basement filled with nothing but Twinkies; ain’t none my business. Happy prepping to you, and you’re welcome.

[Old Sarge]

I have come to the point that those who don’t get ready for SHTF can ESAD.

[mad_as_he$$]

TWD fans loved this scene.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOALOsG0Clg

[LadyBuck]

Everyone in this group knows the math, knows the dumbing down of our children & grandchildren - and that govt leeches, perverts, thugs, racists, illegals & terrorists reign here. In my 46 years, I’ve seen everything my Dad predicted come to fruition, only faster.

We are in unsustainable times. For some, it’s is easier to sleep at night believing if we elect enough Reagans, the problems will vanish.

If we clean-slated fedgov & got all the candidates we wanted - than what? You think 50 million EBT cards going dark overnight will fix it? IMHO, it would merely accelerate SHTF. And what newly elected official would be brave enough to pull that trigger?

Anyone running for office these days is not a fixer, just another trough feeder.

It’s easier to hope for a saviour than face the abyss headlong.

[Kartographer]

As you are as you stated and potable water is what you ‘do’ then what precentage of municipal water systems in the US use calcium hypochlorate to treat thier water?

[Hardens Hollow]

“Actually, electing the right kind of candidates IS how we turn the country around, so what are you talking about?”

I think it is too late. We are so mired in fascism that undoing all the big government intrusions would be very difficult. And getting enough candidates in the House and Senate with spines would take a miracle. They are in the majority, yet caved to fund amnesty. What hope is there, except the hope if the desperate?

This is part of awareness. Realizing the candidates have made us promises then stabbed us in the back - and not assuming that it won’t happen again.

We have to accept reality as it is not as we want it to be - to survive what may come.

[Hardens Hollow]

I love having a stockpile of books. For a dollar each at library fund raisers and some used book stores, they are quite a bargain.

Having real books to get me through whatever disaster comes my way is one reason I’m not getting too tied to my kindle. Besides, reading from paper is just mire comforting... or perhaps I don’t like change.