Making Do

As I sort through and organize all of my survival and preparedness gear, I find myself realizing that I will likely have little or no access to what I need when I need it. I try to train myself in how to use everything, the best way to pack things, and label them accordingly so I will be able to easily access anything I have even under the most adverse circumstance. I know that all the gear one could amass is of no use if you don’t have it with you. For this reason alone, it is essential that you gain knowledge, experience, and wisdom above all the gear you can have.

Ask yourself questions that will lead to the most bare bones survival scenarios possible. What would I do in the midst of a catastrophe with nothing, not even so much as a pocket knife? Do you have what it takes to make something from nothing, have a good attitude, a sense of humor, and the will to keep on keeping on no matter what? What would you do if you were caught in a heavy rain wearing nothing more than jeans and a tee shirt? You are soaked to the bone, the wind is picking up, and the temperature has dropped to 40 degrees. How do you avoid falling into hypothermia? Granted, some situations aren’t survivable. You must enter even those with an attitude that you will prevail, after all, there are accounts where someone overcomes the impossible and lives to tell about it. The common thread throughout miracle stories seems to be an amazing attitude, and the will to prevail. I think back over several situations where I really was surprised to make it out alive.

When I was in the Air Force, one of the things I did was to organize a group of airmen to fight a raging forest fire in the Rocky Mountains near Denver, Colorado. Our small group fought fire for nearly 72 solid hours. Nights were a surreal hellish inferno. I recall plumes of flame unexpectedly shooting out of nowhere, where roots had been burning underground, and then suddenly shooting skyward as high as 75 feet. The chances of stepping into a searing hole of white hot ash where a tree once stood was not unlikely. I had one incident of riding a near shear cliff a great distance to the ground in an attempt to escape the fire. What I am getting at here, is that we have innate abilities that seem to wake up at just the critical moment we need them. I know from experience that we can increase our odds of making it, if we will take the necessary time to study, practice, and learn the skills necessary for our core survival.

The rule of threes is a common bit of wisdom to remember at all times. You can make it three minutes without air, three hours without shelter, three days without water, and three weeks without food. Remember the sacred order of survival basics; Shelter, Fire, Water, and Food. Build and hone your powers of awareness, and be prepared to face the unexpected. Most of all, keep a positive mental attitude under all circumstances. Learn to utilize as much of the surrounding environment as you can. Make observation, and awareness exercises a part of your daily life. When you think about it, look around. What do your immediate situation and surroundings present to you if a need were to arise. Whether in a city or the wilderness, you still have the same needs. Use common sense when going anywhere.

Prepare for weather changes. Build your knowledge base of readily available foods that you can find wherever you are. Be on the look out for possible shelter, and protection sights. Always make note of possible escape routes wherever you are, especially in crowded areas. I have been in situations where civil unrest has broken out and I was in the midst of it. A situation can go from normal to mayhem in seconds. In these times, there may be no reaction time. If you can build your sensitivity to your surroundings, you can sometimes feel tension rising and get out before it is too late. The same principle applies to weather. Don’t become complacent, or expect an authority to be there to help. Even if they are well intentioned, they may be too caught up in the situation at hand to help you out.

The bottom line is to be prepared in advance of anything that comes along as much as you can. This involves practicing skills, cultivating sensitivity, intuition, improvising, and if possible getting out of harms way before the situation becomes critical. Take your survival kits out, and practice using them. Refine them to their simplest form. Learn how to make do without them. Make your mind, body, and spirit your primary survival tool.

The Basics of Survival

What does the survival mean to you? Struggling across deserts or living for weeks in the wilderness? Well, you're right, but survival can also mean knowing how to stay alive in the worse case, which is probably more important for most of us. So, my definition of survival is the ability to look after yourself with a minimum of equipment in any given situation. You must take into account the laws of nature and the safety of any one taking part. Some of the skills discussed in many of the books available on the subject must be used with care. Many of the tips in the books available are taken from military manuals, and consequently the suggestions which these books contain are not always practical.

The main enemy for any one trying to survive is fear of the unknown. This is made worse if you're injured, without food or water, cold or hot, or on your own. The main way of combating fear is by practicing these skills, so that the unknown becomes the known. Many of the basic skills required for surviving are what could be called basic scouting skills; such as shelter building, fire lighting, etc. We will be looking at a number of required skills but you must practice them until they become second nature to you, because you may need them when they're least expected.

Let us look at some of the important factors that will mean the difference between living or dieing. The ability to find or make shelter, being able to make a fire, making your water safe to drink, finding your way without a compass or map, and being able to find simple foods. Having with you the right tools, required to do all the above. The most important thing is to have practiced doing all of the above before you really need to do them. A real desperate situation is not the right time to have to start learning these important skills. Practice with family, friends and neighbors.

I'll will be doing follow ups on each one of these skills in future articles.

Getting Your House in Order

Self preservation is often one of the first things to kick in when our survival is threatened, and it is only natural as it is a part of the survival instinct. This impulse can be triggered by something as minor as a storm moving through the area. Suddenly people start to hoard food. They begin to hold up and isolate themselves from their neighbors, even their friends, and family. Although self preservation is important, we can often increase our chances of getting through a situation unscathed if we join forces with others as a community working together. When we work together with others, we accomplish more exponentially than we do alone. This concept was presented to me by Richard Rose, an old man from the hills of West Virginia whose wisdom was unsurpassed in so many areas of life, but that is another story. Richard spoke of the Contractors Law, which works something like this. If one man can clear a field in a week, then two may be able to clear it in six days. Three may get it done in a day and a half, and so on. Try observing this law in action the next time you go to work. Unless you work completely alone, you will see how this law works. While you are at it, observe your co-workers. Don’t forget to include yourself in this observation. Who is the most reliable? Who is the weakest link? Who is best suited for any given task? Chances are, the same rules that apply in everyday life also apply in a survival situation, whether it be urban, or wilderness. The main difference may be the level of intensity of the situation, and the overall level of consciousness demanded of us.

When you really look at life, we are all in some degree of a survival situation every day of our lives. If we don’t clothe ourselves properly, we expose ourselves to environmental hazards. If we don’t exercise proper hygiene, we expose ourselves, and those around us to potential disease, and health problems. If we aren’t conscious and alert when we drive, we endanger everyone in our path. The list goes on, and on. You get the idea.

Some of the points I am getting to here relate to whether you are a part of the solution, or part of the problem in a given situation. All of us have strengths, and weaknesses. Awareness of these is one of the first steps to improvement. After an initial observation and assessment, it is time to take action. I refer again to one of my mentors here, Richard Rose, who insisted that one of the fundamental acts of self development is to get the house in order. This applies to both our internal house, that is to say, our inner self, our mind, our thoughts, and actions. Those things that are our inner self. This is the part of ourself that makes up who we are, regardless of our external environment. Our other house begins with our immediate environment, starting with the clothes on our back, to our home, our neighborhood, town, on and on to the outer fringes of the universe that holds our world in its near perfect place. More simply put, you have to get your mind right, and your surroundings organized.

It is clear that our first step is awareness. Our next step is action. As the old adage goes, “Every journey begins with a single step”. Take simple measures. Don’t try to do everything at once, or you will get overwhelmed. In a survival setting, you have to establish an order for things. Once established, stick to that order. Remember that a proper mental attitude is probably the single most important element for survival. Next on the list is shelter, and again I stress, starting with the clothes on your back. Next is going to be water, and fire, then last is food. Water and fire are listed in the same breath, as you will likely need fire to purify your water.

There are measures you can take to be better prepared before you find yourself in a full survival situation. Begin by clearing out clutter in both your inner self as well as your outside environment. Make sure you have access to things you use in your daily life. This may mean knowing how many steps it takes to get out of your house in an emergency, or where you will meet up with other family members in the event of a crisis. Do you have a coordinated neighborhood plan where, as neighbors, you look out for one another? In the process of getting your house in order, work to establish good habits. Most of us want the best for our families, ourselves, and our fellow man, but if we don’t make a conscious effort, we may place others unknowingly at risk. The simple act of washing your hands after being in public, using the bathroom, or petting the family cat, can prevent illness from infecting the whole family. Suppose you have a flat tire, and after changing it decide you are too tired to properly secure the jack. A week later, you slam on the brakes, narrowly escaping an accident. All is well except that the jack you failed to secure is hurled at great force into the back of your head leaving you with a permanent injury.

These are just a few examples of why it is important to keep our house in order. Consider the priceless value of the Boy Scout motto, “Be prepared”. It could save your life, and maybe the lives of those around you.

Mental Preparedness

Mental preparedness is just as important as storing your food and water. In a post SHTF world or any survival situation having your wits about you is going to be your best asset. You can have all the food and water in the world but if you panic and stress out it won't do you much good. You must prepare yourself mentally for anything that could come your way. A tornado, hurricane, lightning strike or any other disaster can happen with little notice. It's important to always stay calm and if you do you're always going to be able to handle the situation better.

Panicking will get you nowhere. When we had the tornado hit our house and neighborhood we didn't panic. After it was over we proceeded to ensure everyone was safe and okay. After that we started salvaging what we could and putting it in the parts of the house that weren't damaged. This saved us lots of money, and saved the insurance company from having to replace a lot of our stuff.

Even in everyday life keeping your stress levels down will help you with your job, social, and home life. Keep a positive attitude and don't let the little things get to you. Be patient with yourself and others. Not everyone thinks and works they way you do so be sure to accommodate for others and be understanding. This is an important part of the prepper mindset that I talk so much about. A prepper is always thinking one step ahead. Be ready for anything and never let your guard down.