Survival Skills
The story of the four children who managed to survive 40 days in the wilderness of the Amazon jungle before being rescued has amazed me. Three adults, including their mother, were killed in the small plane crash, but the four children survived and walked away from the crash.
After they were found, the oldest said their mother was alive for four days after the crash and told the children to leave her and look after themselves. They survived eating fruit and seeds, protecting themselves from 16 hours of rain daily.
A spokesperson said they survived: first, they wished to maintain their lives; second, they are indigenous people, so they have immunity to so many hazards inside the jungle; and third, they know the jungle. They had been taught the most basic of all, which was survival skills.
This story made me realize we aren’t teaching our children survival skills. Maybe, that’s because we don’t anticipate them getting lost in the Amazon, but you will hear a news report of a child wandering off from a campsite, backyard, or shopping mall almost daily. I doubt they know how to forage for food or water because that is an unfamiliar survival skill.
I think there’s an even more fundamental survival skill that most of the population is missing out on coping skills. These skills help you manage both positive and negative external situations and help you tolerate, minimize, and deal with stressful situations in life.
The inability to deal with situations leads to unhealthy coping mechanisms such as road rage, rudeness, lashing out at others, and other impulsive, inappropriate behaviors. This also leads to other stress-induced health disorders and can lead to social and emotional incompetence, depression, and anxiety. Anger and aggression in the workplace, schools, streets, airplanes, and roadways appear to be becoming increasingly commonplace and almost accepted.
My HVAC system stopped working recently on a Friday and was discovered around 6:30 p.m. when I got home from work.
I immediately called my service provider, but they couldn’t work me in for an appointment until the following Tuesday, four long hot days away. I had the choice of getting upset with them as to why they couldn’t get to me sooner, but it was not their fault that my system stopped working, so the best thing to do was politely accept the Tuesday appointment and move on with life.
It can get hot in Florida this time of year, and the inside house temperature increased to 84 degrees during the day. Someone asked me, “Why don’t you go to a hotel?” I remarked that I grew up without air conditioning, so I could sustain myself for at least four days. I could let this issue become a stressor or roll with it and wait my turn.
It was a good reason not to cook and create more heat in the house, giving me more time to do other things. It felt good on Tuesday to get the “chiller” back to running, but it also felt good to know that I could make it for a few inconvenienced days.
I don’t have an answer for why some people act out and feel good when they belittle, put down, or do harm to others. My grandmother always said, “You attract more flies with honey than vinegar.” Not that I’m into catching flies, but I get the meaning. Your blessings will be doubled or tripled with a healthy, positive outlook. You will feel better, and slowly, you’ll start to notice a change in those around you. Everyone will have flies, and believe me, there are plenty of those to go around.
