Hello my friend and welcome back. Things are not always as they seem and a wise man knows his own shortcomings, so in today’s post we are going to be discussing what it will take to truly survive “the fall” when the time comes. Grab yourself a cup of coffee and have a seat while we visit.
As a Prepper, I spend a lot of time thinking about and researching what it will take to survive when it all falls apart. As my sweet wife reminded me, there is more to survival than just brawn and resources. If it wasn’t, the cave man would still be around today. (She’s a pretty sharp lady; of course she married me so I knew she was smart. 🙂
So what are these missing elements that will be needed to insure your survival? They are intelligence, the ability to inspire others, compassion, and the one thing that to me most Preppers have missing – experience. Let’s take a quick look at these by starting with intelligence. OK, so this is one of those things that you’re either born with or not. No matter how smart you think you are, it never hurts to hedge your bet. (More on this later.) The ability to inspire others and be a good leader is a skill learned and practiced over time and can make the difference between living and dying in some situations. Compassion is important because without it we are no better than the animals. Compassion is the hallmark of the noble person. Just don’t let it overcome your better judgement and place you and your group in jeopardy.
Now we come to the one that many will be missing and that is experience. So how do you get experience for a SHTF situation if you haven’t lived through one? That is a very good question and one that really needs to be addressed by all Preppers. The truth is that there are only 2 ways to get it. (1) Actually live through one, or (2) find someone who has. There are still lots of older people around who lived through the Great Depression and can give you tons of ideas about how to overcome different hardships. Seek them out, ask them questions, and learn all that you can from them. Whether you know it or not, they are key to your survival. In fact, having a few elderly people in your group is a really good idea because in some cases, you won’t know what questions to ask until you are faced with survival for the first time.
So what if you don’t know anyone from this age group…Then what? While nursing homes are full of people with tons of survival experience of different types, I can understand someone’s reluctance to visit them. It is a stark reminder that we may someday be in a similar situation and that can be hard to deal with. In this case, you will need to broaden your search to include people in different countries and read everything you can about their triumphs and failures. While firsthand experience is always the best, learning from others experiences are the next best thing. Now I’m not talking about those who theorize about what it might be like, but those with firsthand knowledge of it. There are millions of people the world over going through what you and I would consider SHTF this very minute. Places like Brazil and Portugal and even many in Africa are living with food and clean water shortages while being terrorized by gangs and thugs as well as soldiers from their own government. This is happening right now and while the world is silent on these atrocities, there are articles being shared on the internet that tell the stories of these people and how they have adapted to their surroundings. Learn all you can from their experiences by reading their stories and maybe even contacting the writer to ask specific questions. Experience and knowledge are the true keys to survival. Find them, seek them out and learn all you can from them then use this knowledge to create an actionable plan to make sure you and your family survive when you are faced with the same challenges here in America.
Well I guess that is it for today and I hope you have enjoyed today’s post. Until next time, stay safe, stay strong, and stay prepared. God Bless America!
-The Sargent-
An excellent post! Those of us who were kids during the Great Depression and WW2 learned a lot. most of us didn’t really understand what was going on in the ’30’s and the home front during the war was often stressful and exciting at the same time.
Read all you can, especially first-person accounts by survivors of various horrors from all over the world and give them some serious thought. It’ll help you with your planning.