Survival

For animals the largest and healthy ones survive to live another day. In some ways we humans are in the same boat. Not only we come out screaming we look and sometimes fight to make our place in the world. Often we are tested by our peers to see how we stand. It usually begins with teasing and can turn into bullying. I had experience in both areas. I was teased a lot in elementary school and by the time I was in ninth grade I knew all about bullying having a lot of experience in that area. I had to stand up strong to survive. I never really got into any fights because I stood my ground letting my opponent know that I was welling too. Most of high school I wasn’t teased as much and not being bullied. The prior experience kept me out of it.

When we become adults we deal with survival in a different manner and that has to do with getting a job along with keeping it. Not always an easy task either. Here we have some that try to bully us again or at least think too much of themselves. With our experience growing up we use that experience to use our minds to survive. Throughout this life of ours we have to continue to survive a world that may feel we have no place in it. Until our dying breath survival is part of us. Survival is what we can show others through our purpose and destiny. Giving encouragement to others is to let them know that they will make it. We may not call it survival in our terms but actually that what it is all about. Time to time I deal with depression and for me to make it through I must know that I can survive.

Although we may not think of it this way playing sports teaches us how to survive as well. Not only the actions of playing the sport but where we stand in the sport. Are we among the best, in the middle somewhere or we are not very good at all. Tough lesson for those who don’t care or not very good at sports; even those guys learn to survive. I remember playing any one of the sports in elementary school where I was picked near the bottom by the captains. I never really understood because most sports I was at least OK at them and some even real good. I was very competitive because I was upset being one of the last chosen. I guess you could say I went into survival mode. I had to show the other kids how good I was and that I would go out and beat them. Although I didn’t all the time I certainly showed them.

Another time of survival was in boy scouts where I got lost for a night in the Cascade Mountains. I was not smart getting into the situation leaving the scout troop on my own thinking that  I was going to find a short cut off the trail. This was a mistake I found out very fast and tried to find my way to the trail once again. I should have gone back but tried a different route. During the night I got bit by mosquitoes all over my body and had a hard time seeing. In the morning I could see helicopters that I figured were looking for me. My older brother Dick I found later wanted to go and find me. Not a good idea because he got lost several times hiking while this was my only experience since I learned from my mistake. Anyway I found a river so I followed it figuring this would get me back to civilization which it did. Again I was in survival mode and I didn’t want to die either out in the woods. So you see I am sure that we all experience a lot of times being in survival mode. We learn a whole lot and we live another day to tell it.