What does it mean to survive? Obviously, humans have survived countless natural and man-made disasters and continue to survive and thrive on planet earth. However, in this blog, we are focusing on surviving a SHTF situation.
We Prepare
All around us we see our freedoms being eroded and many of our systems being corrupted. So we prepare. But for what? So many scenarios could play out– a false epidemic, fires (natural or man made), SWAT teams in the early hours in small communities where they can knock out power and cell, preventing us from spreading the alarm. And, there are so many more possibilities.
Three Most Critical Areas of Preparation
The three most critical areas of preparation are rarely discussed. These are mental, emotional, and spiritual.
Why These Areas of Preparation Are Important
Why are these areas of preparation so important? It’s because, at our core, that is all we truly are. Our body is a vehicle we use. It needs sustenance, warmth, and protection. Al of that we need to be mentally and emotionally strong to achieve.
Knowledge
We can buy food, store water, own guns and ammo, have sufficient medical needs and even camping gear. However, if we are not knowledgeable on many fronts, we are ill prepared. Not only is it important to know how to use what we have but also how to place it for maximum security and use.
Let us look at the fires in California last year as an example. Aerial views show whole neighborhoods reduced to rubble. There has been speculation that it may have been done with a laser-directed beam from an airplane. Regardless, if you had been in such a situation, all of your physical prep would have gone up in smoke. Are you mentally, emotionally, and spiritually ready for such an outcome?
Loss of Life
And what of loss of life? In a SHTF scenario, people will die, even people you love. Grief will blind you as well as derail your ability to cope, which is why the military train so intently.
During one of the World Wars, psychologists wondered about the men who repeatedly ran back in to save others. They surmised it was because of being raised in poverty or strained conditions. However, they were wrong. In fact, those who went back in came from intact, well to do homes and were loved and well educated. Strong mental and emotional lives gave them the tools they needed to survive and still help others.
World Wide Web
Today, we have access to so much free material on the world wide web. This allows you to provide yourself with a wide range of knowledge in an assortment of disciplines. https://eartheasy.com, is such a place. There are countless others as well as free courses in carpentry, sewing, and of course cooking in a wilderness setting. Map reading and proper use of compass.
A Mindset That Can Shift Gears
To be able to have a mindset that can shift gears in a changing environment and makes use of whatever you find around you is a true survival tool. I am a big fan of the original McGyver show. I loved that he had such a broad range of knowledge to pull from and could improvise on the sly.
Part of that mind set is to break from the masses of which a large part are dependent on the government, experts, or technology. All of these can paralyze us from acting, or force us to act recklessly, such as in a pandemic situation where staying in place is better and safer then fleeing. To stay put in the face of the unknown and potential life threatening situation, takes strong emotional control and a deep faith, not only in a higher power, but your own knowledge and supplies.
There are so many programs and videos online that teach you how to survive in different terrains as well as locations, such as urban or rural or mountainous or desert. Learning situational awareness as well as intelligence gathering and analysis.
Bug Out Bag
Keeping a bug out bag in your car that has the most basic of needs, should you have to leave in a hurry. It is an essential item. Items in the bag should have the greatest range of uses should it be all you have.
Secondary Locations
Using intelligence gathering, you know which locations apart from yours that would be secondary locations. Maybe a handful of close family or friends buys a storage facility in the secondary zone and you each store back up material.
Caching
Find off-the-path locations and bury supplies on the route, including weapons. Doing this act of caching, as an insurance against some scenarios, takes some of the stress off a sudden change in circumstances.
Mental and Emotional Strengths
Being able to stop and breathe through the fear, to rely heavily on a higher power, to shift gears at a moments notice, to think through a scenario to see a clear path, to stay put when your fight and flight response says flee– these are mental and emotion strengths you will greatly need.
The Spiritual
And what of the Spiritual? As a death survivor, I know both sides of the divide. My inner strength and my unwavering convictions, my deep and abiding confidence in Spirit, are the bedrock foundation upon which all else is built. Jesus did not tell us to have faith IN God, but instead to have the faith OF God. That small word makes all the difference.
There will be times when you will want to just give up. Here is when the Spiritual foundation truly kicks in. I remember many times when I was a new mom and I would ask my mom this or that, some days wanting to quit. She would say, “Just wait a day before deciding anything.” It took a while to get what she was saying.
Practice Meditation
Begin today to practice meditation. Jesus said to seek the kingdom first and that the kingdom is within. So spend even five minutes listening and going within. Like any muscle, it will strengthen with use. Soon you will find that it will become easier and will be the greatest resource you have.
The Psychotic
Not Far Enough
In the TV program The Walking Dead, many people stopped watching it because of the violent actions of the bat wrapped with barbed wire character. They felt it went too far. In fact, it did not go far enough. In a SHTF scenario, the psychotic will be out in force. They will kill for the sheer pleasure of it.
It is easy to sit in your comfortable home and feel safe. You have your gear, and so in your mind all is well. Reality will surprise you. During his time at Valley Forge, George Washington was given three visions. In the last, he was shown the nation as it is today. He was told the last attack on the Republic would be the worst and many would die. No watering it down. Just straight up many will die.
Our Pets
Included in that is our pets. SWAT will shoot them. A pandemic could get them easier than us. Again, there are countless scenarios. In many natural disaster evacuations, people leave their pets behind. Can you do this? How will you feel later for having done so? Will they make noise that gives you away? What of the death of an elderly family member?
It is not a subject people want to brooch but is absolutely necessary. Blood, torture, suffering, death– these will happen, and you need to be prepared emotionally, mentally, and spiritually for the possibility. To ignore the most horrific possibilities is to keep your head. Play “What would I do if…?”
In the real world, we know that when the unexpected happens we were not ready for it. We can be tripped up, frozen with fear, or simply left shocked and immobile.
Build Your Prepping Insurance Stock Stock Pile
As you build your prepping insurance stock pile, be sure not to leave out the emotional, mental, and spiritual. Educate yourself. Take a deep inventory of your emotional responses and your own self control. Put yourself, mentally in different outcomes, and walk through how you would react and change anything you see into a better response.
We can prepare to a degree for a SHTF scenario, but likewise prepare mentally to what will come after as well. Get to better know the ones who will be around you and will have your back. How they weather the storms around themselves will give you a better assessment of how they will be with you. We all have a hidden fear and knowing it and eradicating it now will be good practice in facing new ones and getting beyond them quickly.
Children and Teens
As difficult as this subject is for us adults, it’s doubly so for children. Teens are on a cusp from the safety of childhood to the full minefield of adulthood. Smaller children may take it in stride, whereas teens may have increased stress. You know your child. So, preparing them is a job only you can do.
I would often watch certain shows with my children and use them as teaching moments. We would discuss how a character acted or reacted and what might be a better action. We would discuss what would you do in a situation like that. By doing this they saw it played out and were able to put themselves in it safely.
None of us know the absolute how, or when, but we can build the mental, emotional, and spiritual muscles we will need regardless of the event or events.
Remember courage is not having no fear; it is instead not letting it be an obstacle to action.
SurvivalBlog Writing Contest
This has been another entry for Round 77 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include:
First Prize:
- A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
- A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,095 value),
- A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
- DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
- Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
- A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
- Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value), and
- American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
Second Prize:
- A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
- A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
- A gift certificate for any two or three-day class from Max Velocity Tactical (a $600 value),
- A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
- A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
- A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
- RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site.
Third Prize:
- A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
- A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
- Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
- Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
- Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances, and
- Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
Round 77 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.
The Grim possibilities presented in your essay may very well come to pass ,
we stand on the threshold of something very ugly taken from the time when men tried to turn the world into a graveyard . The last few days of the current news cycle confirms this , this behavior has happened before and I fear history may repeat itself.
we never learn from our mistakes and cruelty to our fellow man.
Now is the time to rely on our God , Faith and each other and to remain faithful to the end.
Never forget this, with the Almighty we win in the end .
Make This Our Finest Hour.
I definitely agree with the above comment. Great response.
Yes we must keep faith in Him and continue praying.
One caution: Do not fall into the easy and ubiquitous trap of sitting and waiting for more from God. I believe He expects us to use the blessings that He has already provided to protect our loved ones. These blessings include skills, knowledge, ingenuity, perseverance, ability to compose compute rationalize and memorize, and the God-given right to self-defense
Thank you SL for the wisdom to speak on the foundational aspects of our lives. Until understanding the spiritual component (and battle) in life there is no truth… “all is vanity”.
The only “true” reality is a spiritual reality! This physical reality is a passing thing, yes it is here, it appears hard, solid and true, but we are not our bodies, we are the spiritual essence that animates the physical.
Exactly right eam. As a born again believer, I pray that the Lord spares us and that Sherman never meets the fan in our lifetime. I do see wisdom in preparing for the all contingencies in cases it may come our way, as much as possible. The ONLY WAY TO BE ABSOLUTELY PREPARED FOR ALL CRISIS is SPIRITUAL READINESS! There IS the possibility that NO MATTER how much you have prepped, and thought out all sorts of scenarios. YOU and/or your loved ones may NOT SURVIVE! ARE YOU PREPARED TO DIE? DO you have the Courage to place your Faith in the One that created you, and have Faith that HE is able to do all to see you through to the time He chooses to call you Home? Do you KNOW you are a Child of God beyond any shadow of a doubt? Any of these worst scenarios that Preppers list as possibilities….They would severely test your Faith, your Hope, Your commitments, and Love for yourself and others. It does not matter if they are family or not. Whether you chose their company or were just “thrown together by events” ,when the stuff started to hit that ol’ fan….How will you meet those challenges of DAILY having to deal with these challenges of living, being a survivor? Are you ready to have to deal with the Death(s) of your loved ones, no matter how hard you worked to protect them? Do you have that kind of courage, that enables you to carry on in great difficulty and even opposing Evil? COURAGE IS FAITH DANCING IN THE RAIN. WHO are you placing your trust in, in the NOW? What about AFTER DEATH? THAT is the most crucial question that you can ask yourself now! How do you live, now? WHILE doing your prepping …is it reflecting that Light from the Son? THAT is the most crucial way you can prep your loved ones! YOU sharing and being DAILY, contagiously living IN Faith is the BEST GIFT you can give your loved ones! Inviting them to Jesus Christ’s Way, the Truth and His Eternal Love and LIfe is the BEST and MOST IMPORTANT PRIORITY in prepping for LIFE period! Then IF ALL ELSE FAILS, you have Faith in HIM, Who promised the HOPE of spending Eternity with Him AND THEM! What better assurance you could have of their safety than if they choose to follow and accept Him as Savior and Lord of their lives, too? THIS IS A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH! ETERNITY IS THE VERY FIRST EVENT WE NEED TO BE PREPARED TO MEET! YES~ Then you can TRUST the Lord’s promises. You CAN place your total trust that all may hit the fan, but the Lord will see that ALL AT THE VERY END OF THINGS ON EARTH ends well! Ephesians 2:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; Paul wrote in 2 Timothy
Chapter 4
1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
6 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.
7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. I believe THAT is the FIRST-BEST-WAY we can be prepared! EVEN SO, COME LORD JESUS!
Excellent and appreciated.
I would suggest not putting your faith in a god that will allow all these terrible things to happen (TEOTWAWKI). You would do better to trust your family take care of them. Do not try to save everyone else. You will lose everything.
I couldn’t find any valid reference to George Washington being given three visions about the future of the country.
I did…easily
The references I checked out said the angel visions for George Washington were a hoax originating 150 years ago and never quite going away. I tried to read sources that weren’t obvious liberal slant machines.
The account I read was an eyewitness account originating from an aide of Gen. George Washington just before the assault/battle at Valley Forge.
The reason why it’s not fully substantiated is because when the aide went to the General he was knelt down as if in prayer (which he purportedly did before each engagement) and was unresponsive for an extensive period of time. Almost like he couldn’t be shaken awake. It was at this time that Gen. Washington was in the middle of a particularly nasty vision depicting the attack upon a future United States from an evil from without and within.
I firmly believe, from prior research, that he may well have had such a vision as he describes, not just because of what he describes but also due to the fact that he couldn’t be roused from his vision, almost like he were in a trance like state in prayer.
I find it very likely that the Lord showed Gen. Washington a vision that probably scared the bejesus out of him but also inspired him to achieve great victory at Valley Forge, knowing full well that the Republic would endure.
That’s just my 2 cents, I appreciate the back and forth.
Reapectfully
S.L,
Great insight from your article, From a real Military Member, balanced Family Man; and above all God fearing Christian , your writing is appreciated.
It is amazing that mankind, as a whole, is preoccupied we the idea of death. I often ask people that are so occupied with that concept if they believe in God. If their answer is “No” then I can understand their consternation…… but even then I make the statement, ” If you don’t believe in God and you don’t think there is anything after your physical passing, what is the big deal? You can’t do anything about so why loose an ounce of sweat over it?” for some reason that doesn’t seem to relieve their anxiety…..Gee I wonder why?
I believe God, BASED on the Bible, created Humankind with Free Will. It is the results of that Free Will, that enables Humankind to make all sorts of choices! Whether you believe in God or not…Where does that ALL EVIL, and most catastrophic events come from? Are they not the direct and indirect consequences of a HUMAN’s CHOICES! Look back in the World’s History. GREED for Riches, Power, and Prestige has been the PRIMARY SOURCE of Human Suffering here on Earth. People have used the name of God, and Jesus Christ, as Jesus Christ and His Apostles WARNED ABOUT IN THE BIBLE, to teach lies, deceiving people to get power over them. Cults, and Religion(s) have been deceiving many into doing bad deeds in the name of doing good, or gaining power for thousands of years, like the Aztecs human sacrifices, and the practice of cannibalism of some tribes. Some examples to name a few: Muslim Jihads, “Christian” Crusades, The Spanish Inquisition: Some like Marx have done this by promoting an ideology denying the existence of any spiritual realm. They believe HUMANS can EVOLVE and reach for Utopian existance via a system of Government. That has NOT HAPPENED in any of those experiments! Communism and Socialism, by the nature of Human nature also gets polluted by the HUMAN’S own corruption! They deprive others of their human rights, and end up having to use Force to coerce others to do their will. They embraced The Theory of Evolution to promote their systems of beliefs. Hitler and the Nazi Regime, Mussolini, Stalin and the Communists’ takeovers of all the places that they have grabbed power, are all excellent examples of systems that do that. Then there are numerous individuals that do harm like Jim Jones, that “made” all those people drink the Koolaid. Human traffickers, Drug dealers, and even Coal Mine owners, Land Developers, Big Corporate businesses do this on a smaller scale, same problem. Terrorists attacking people to “promote” their causes. HOW do all these ways, caused by PEOPLE, that may bring about The End of the World As We Know It come from God? People seem to be perfectly able to bring and CAUSE all the crap to HIT the fan all on their own! THEN you say that God should not allow people to make their choices that have brought about all the past, present, and future evil, and terrible events that they cause? Do you want to have no free will? You WANT to be a robot? I have seen people make good choices in circumstances brought about by these times of evil too. People that see the Light, stand up for the Truth, Justice, and fight for the Right. I have seen evil people overcome, and changed by the Light of God’s Word, and the Power of Jesus Christ’s Salvation too. I have witnessed MIRACLES! I know many that chose to rescue and help the victims, risking their lives to do so. HOW did they KNOW what they did was right? What basis do YOU have for what is Right? What is LIght, Truth, and real justice? Where does that concept even come from? Do you have any real REASON anyone should NOT do whatever they want, to get what they want, when they want it? Whether YOU are in the way of them getting it or not? WHY do you have ANY rights? Is it because you are a product of Evolutionary Theory and that wondrous “primordial OOZE” that will just dissolve into nothingness at death? IS MORALITY AND ETHICS DETERMINED BY WHATEVER SOCIETY THAT YOU LIVE IN? WHY WOULD THE SOCIETY HAVE THE RIGHT TO TAKE YOUR LIFE FROM YOU, FOR ANY REASON, LIKE THE COLOR OF YOUR EYES?What if someone decided YOU are expendable due to what you think and believe? Why would that be wrong or right for them to make you expendable, based on anything they want to do so? You are just a blob of animated dust, right? MAYBE YOU CRINGE at that inevitable set of questions? BECAUSE DEEP DOWN, GOD PLACED IN YOUR BEINGS DEEPEST ETERNAL CONSCIOUSNESS THAT you are LOVED AND DESIGNED UNIQUELY BY AN ALL POWERFUL, LOVING GOD THAT GAVE YOU FREEDOM OF CHOICE? Who GAVE YOU an Eternal Soul that can choose where you spend the rest of your eternal life BASED on HIS GIFT OF LOVE AND WHETHER YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT HIM OR NOT?