Why Survive at all?

salchanra, I do not have a ton of survival skills. My "partner in crime" is the one who is military-trained and likely has better survival skills. I mainly have the willingness to help others, and sometimes I get visions that may be useful for explaining to people what happened and why. Right now, my only real survival skills are a good sense of direction, knowledge of farming/gardening techniques, and being able to MacGuyver almost anything. I am also good with repairing electronics and cars/machines, assuming any will still work. I have been looking around online and in military manuals (Ranger Handbook, etc.) to pick up on some other things though.

Why would you not want to survive.... to see one more sunrise, to maybe find someone and love, to see the miracle of creation, unless the earth is toatally obliterated and our atmosphere completely destroyed, nature would recover... the joy of finding that first flower in a mountain meadow or discover that a small group of deer or squirrels or animals have survived and are recovering... to LIVE.

Originally posted by Cyb3rian
salchanra, I do not have a ton of survival skills. My "partner in crime" is the one who is military-trained and likely has better survival skills. I mainly have the willingness to help others, and sometimes I get visions that may be useful for explaining to people what happened and why. Right now, my only real survival skills are a good sense of direction, knowledge of farming/gardening techniques, and being able to MacGuyver almost anything. I am also good with repairing electronics and cars/machines, assuming any will still work. I have been looking around online and in military manuals (Ranger Handbook, etc.) to pick up on some other things though.

Those skills are worth more that you think. Along with the farming, gardening, I am assuming cooking, you might want to find out what wild plants are healthy and edible, providing whatever happens isn't a poisoning of the atmosphere. Even dandelions are a useful source of vitamins. Perennial herbs, and berries.....
Being handy with electronics, and repair work, collect hand tools, of all sorts, and also learn how to build an ozonator for water purification.

Cooking? Lol, no, I am the type who should never go in the kitchen - bad things happen when I use anything more than the coffeemaker or microwave At least my partner can cook though. I can manage to char things to the point where they are edible. I was going to look into water purification, basic Boy Scout, Ranger, and SF stuff, combat lifesaver techniques, etc. My partner is trained in combat tracking and has taught me a little bit of that as well. Plus I grew up in a wooded area, and my dad hunted, so I picked up some woodland skills from him. I am a vegetarian, so eating animals is a last resort thing for me, but I am familiar with how to track them, and I am a decent shot, even with a slingshot. I am glad to take any and all suggestions on this. I want to be able to help myself, friends, family, animals, and anyone else whom I may find still alive.

I'm going to take this as a very personal question and answer it accordingly.

Why survive at all?

Remember that song Jack and Diane? "Oh yeah, life goes on... long after the thrill of living is gone..."

In a world where you have to wear helmets to ride a bike, where everything is under the control of everyone else, you aren't allowed to do this, or that because it's unsafe... think of a world where all the rules are gone. Where for a moment you get to make your own.

What things in your life are you not satisfied with? The way people act? The childish idiocy of adults pandering to a system that cares nothing for them? Wouldn't you like to live in a community that depends on itself? Where's the feeling of personal accomplishment?

Survival is the challenge. And think of all the things you'll get to experience on the way. Think of it this way:

After 9/11 Americans came together in a way that we haven't before and probably won't again. You can see this in smaller events like a car accident. People put aside their predisposition to assist others. FOr a brief moment, we all work for a common goal. To save a life. To advance ourselves.

Now imagine that on a global scale. Think of how we would have to band together. We'd have to put alot of prejudice aside and learn to live again.

Only through conflict can there be change.

reply to post by AidanK


Positie news. When you plant something in your flower bed and it grows, then you decide to dig it up and move it elsewhere.... it grows back. You can't always dig up every last piece, rose bushes, daffodils, hanging wisteria, etc... They just always seem to renew in the same spot!
I imagine with 6.6 billlion people around you will have a very large number survive whatever event some how. Really we just all need to stay
positive in these uncertain times. I wish we all would get along in life.

reply to post by Cyb3rian


Thank you for the candid and honest reply. I here a lot of things like "I can give a great massage" listed as a survival skill.

The skillset you have will help you and others, so you may make it. But may I suggest this? Don't lean on your partner for everything, learn, train, and think as they do. Will up your odds significantly.

You need to want to live, with or without anyone. And this goes back to the OP, the desire to continue on, to hope for a better tomorrow, no matter what you have, who you have, where you are will be the difference between seeing a rainbow again or being food for the ravens. Some will say "woe is me" and lay down to die, others will think it's great to be alive and they will continue on. Where do you fall? The quitters who will need to be saved, or a savior?