Originally posted by Inannamute
The vast majority of people are definitely geared towards short term survival - how to survive max for a month. That's what most survival kits are geared towards.. 3 days to a month..
...how to use those to build yourself a new life.
Strongly agree. In these days of high unemployment where there seems to be a need for social workers, counsellors and therapists to treat the emotional needs and depression of the newly unemployed, I really wonder how the lifestyle adjustment to years of "doing it hard", is going to affect many people thrust into a fight for survival. If being retrenched can turn your life into turmoil, how much worse will it be when your life looks like being made redundant?
Sadly, I think those who are armoured with nothing more than a video lesson are going to find it hardest. I wonder how many people with nothing more than a BOB and a knife, plan on carving out their "back to basics" empire in the wild? Where does the reality of hunger, injury, pain, cold and illness factor into their dreams?
Where will your insulin come from? What about your child's asthma medication? Have you tested the "alternative" herbs and medications for these conditions and do they work? If so, why are you still using the orthodox drugs? Are you truly prepared for a return to "survival of the fittest" with all of the consequent impact on your loved ones?
Videos? PDFs for your library? Why would you need these if you already have the skills internalised within yourself, and more importantly, their application mastered? A time of crisis is not the time to be indulging in a reading fest. Survival and leisure rarely co-exist. Not unless you're securely bunkered underground with a well equipped survival larder and you have nothing to do except read.
A test for you. If you can, take a month off and go bush, with nothing but your BOB. See how you survive, utilising nothing but your bare hands and a minimum of equipment. It'll be an easy test, because you can always go home if you get too hungry or cold, and there will be a home for you to go back to. Also, you shouldn't have too many people trying to kill you for the meagre resources you have to hand. Not yet, anyway.
I think, if you're serious about survival, you should already have made the move out of the city. Or you should already be utilising post-apocalyptic tools and technology. They should already be built, ready and waiting for when the lights go out.
You see, the danger of just reading and viewing other people's experiences is that it tends to dull the immediacy of the perceived threat to your good self. The sense of shared dread, for most of us, makes the threat easier to bear. It even becomes quite cosy, chatting online with other survivalists from the comfort of your heated home. Even more alarming, is the attitude of "I'm aware of the threat, therefore I have an advantage, therefore I am smarter and I will survive. I can read and I can consult a PDF." Which is an insidious and dangerous mindset to fall into.
A plan is not a collection of videos and PDFs. Your raw data cannot be tested. PDFs and videos cannot take into consideration your physical, emotional and materiel limitations. The only way to guarantee your survival, is to have your survival strategy and knowledge tested and refined NOW. Even our armed forces do not stumble blindly (hopefully) into dangerous and unknown environments without a substantial training period beforehand. Even then, there are no guarantees.
So, when everything that has ever defined or supported you as a human being comes to a screaming halt, how will you survive?
