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View Full Version : What is SURVIVAL, Not a dumb question!



gryffynklm
05-18-2009, 10:09 AM
Sarge got me to thinking about why the forum gets the question "What do I need to live in the woods and survive?" The fact the question is so broad, leads me to believe an understanding of what survival is may be lacking.

I actually tried to Google "Survival" and got so much and didn't find an actual deffiniton that i liked. We all have an understanding of the word.

Here is my challenge:

How do you define the word Survival? As a relative newbie I'll start with my definition. I'll also provide my definition for survival preparedness.

Survival:

The ability to sustain health safety and life in an uncontrolled and life threatening situation for an unknown amount of time, until the threat no longer exists, using only your knowledge and ordinary items you may have available.

Survival Preparedness:

Actions taken to improve your ability to maintain health, safety and life in a life threatening situation. These actions may include but are not limited to increasing your knowledge through training and research as well as acquiring equipment to aid in your chances for survival and rescue.

They're not perfect but its a start.

aflineman
05-18-2009, 11:00 AM
I would say that my definition of survival is getting out of an unexpected situation alive, healthy, and sane. Some other peoples’ definition of survival would seem to be a definition of life, at least to me. I don’t really see going out into the woods (on purpose) with minimal equipment as survival. This is a PLANNED event. You set out to do it, and did it. True survival (at least to me) is when things turn south unexpectedly, then you just soldier on and triumph.
This is how I look at it. I know many people will see it differently.

Jay
05-18-2009, 01:21 PM
being alive to see tomorrow's sunrise!
(just one day at a time!) That's all some people have.

Rick
05-18-2009, 02:30 PM
I agree with Jay and Remy. It's what we do every day. Not stepping in front of a bus. Having a next meal. Treating an illness. Anything and everything done to sustain life regardless of the circumstances whether planned or unplanned.

Top it off - let it idle
05-18-2009, 03:09 PM
gryffynklm,

Interesting question. I've read threads where people ask what do they need to survive when really they're asking what do they need to thrive. I personally feel that is a real distinction.

I agree, surviving to me implies an event or set of circumstances that has a fixed duration - usually unplanned or unexpected (the more planning and preparation you have, the less "surviving" you need to do.) - with the survivor emerging on the other end still alive. Surviving doesn't absolutely imply unscathed or unharmed - simply still breathing. Some people survive an ordeal only to succumb to the effects of that event later. Health and well being is the meter by which you judge how well you survived.

Thriving is a different matter. It means maintaining or increasing health, safety and sanity. There is no absolute time limit on how long you can stay in a situation where you are thriving. Many of the members here are really good at not just surviving but thriving with minimal gear and a large amount of knowledge and experience.

I don't completely agree that day to day living is always "surviving" because I've yet to meet someone who gets outta life alive. Certainly there are a thousand little events we may survive in a day but I rarely feel like my survival skills are being tested. That just may be a matter of perspective and situation. Yes I did survive another day in the cubicle but was there any significant challenge that put my health and well being on the line (we won't talk about sanity)?

I think your definition and all of the definitions on this thread are really good. Everyone has a unique way that they approach life. Maybe the question should be changed to "What do I need to live in the woods and thrive?"

trax
05-18-2009, 03:46 PM
Want to really define something? Define it's opposite and there you have it....it'll be the opposite.

What's the opposite of survival? Non-survival aka, death. So, the opposite of wilderness survival is death in the wilderness. I agree that too often we wander off on these little tangents about surviving comfortably etc, which really is thriving. Nice to talk about but way beyond the necessities. Of course if all we talked about were the absolute necessities our little community would probably all wander off in a pretty short time.

If you went through any kind of trauma in the wilderness, be it getting lost, facing horrible weather conditions without proper equipment, injury or wild beastie attack and you came through it relatively unscathed, then you survived. It doesn't really matter how you did it except in terms of educating others. If you didn't, and you're out there dead someplace, well then you're not reading this anyway, but we can still all learn from your mistakes and my sympathies to your family.

I do believe that this holds true for any kind of survival situation, wilderness or otherwise.

trax
05-18-2009, 04:18 PM
When I feel thirsty a basic physiological need for hydration is at play.

The opposite of going up the stairs? Well, punkin, it can be going down the stairs or...staying where you are.

Tell ya what, surviving is a verb, survival is a noun. If you're lost somewhere in the bush, and thirsty, you decide which is more important, the fact that you have a survival instinct, or finding yourself a drink of water.

trax
05-18-2009, 04:28 PM
Y'know yer guilty of babblin' when you should be travelin' right?

Sarge47
05-18-2009, 04:31 PM
Every breath I take is a moment of surviving death, no matter how brief. My personal faith does not cling to a fear of physical death as some others may fear it as it is embedded in life after death...but then that's me.

So let's narrow down what we're talking about here; surviving what? Where? How? This is a Wilderness Survival Forum & that means that our main focus is on surviving the wilderness when it all goes south. If you go out on a wilderness outing & come back alive yet nothing out of the ordinary happened, technically you still survived; it just wasn't anything that caused any concern. If you got rained out in your camp & had to do without a fire & you made it home alive then you survived. But the thought of that doesn't get the blood pumping, the adrenalin flowing, or the heart beating faster, does it?

Yet talk about drinking urine, digging through feces to find a bit of food for nutrition & all of sudden it's cool...really? How? Eating bugs & the local plant life seems to excite the imagination. I see the true survivor as the person who, through proper preparation, logical thinking, & avoiding panic never faced any danger at all as the true survivor.:cool2:

Rick
05-18-2009, 06:03 PM
When food is scarce, and my body burns stored fat

I'll bet I could use that to my advantage (looking at self in mirror). Yeah, I'm sure I can.

erunkiswldrnssurvival
05-18-2009, 07:10 PM
survival to me is making it through something dangerous as a result of your skills and your desire to walk away from it.

survival preparedness; is having enough "survival" to know what i should prepare for. (then doing the preparations)

tacticalguy
05-18-2009, 07:21 PM
Survival is surviving in the environment around you.

crashdive123
05-18-2009, 07:30 PM
sur-viv-al 1. a: a living or continuing longer than another person or thing b: the continuation of life or existence 2: to contine to exist or liveSurvival preparedness is taking the steps that will allow me to be successful with number 2 above.

gryffynklm
05-18-2009, 07:49 PM
I see the true survivor as the person who, through proper preparation, logical thinking, & avoiding panic never faced any danger at all as the true survivor.:cool2:

It might be an assumption, but I think this is the goal of most of the members of this forum. For us survival is something to prepare for as a challenge.

Rick
05-18-2009, 08:06 PM
Well, Karl, you're right. It's not a dumb question. And it's obvious from all the answers that there are a lot of different ideas related to Survival and Survival Preparedness. So, I cheated and went to the dictionary.

According to World Book:

1.The act or fact of surviving; continuance of life; living or lasting longer than others.

So I looked up Survive:

To live longer than; outlive; To remain alive after; not die during; To sustain the effects of and continue to live; outlast.

I guess to your first question: Continuance of life.
To your second question: Actions taken to ensure continuance of life.

crashdive123
05-18-2009, 08:10 PM
Wow uvajed......

Rick
05-18-2009, 08:12 PM
all over again.

RichNH
05-18-2009, 08:23 PM
Practicing for survival (survival preparedness) is doing donuts in a large parking lot after a snowfall.

Survival is getting control of your car again after it goes into an unexpected skid on a road after a snowfall.

gryffynklm
05-18-2009, 09:45 PM
Rick, No not cheating. The result I was hoping for is being accomplished. We talk about survival in all aspects on this forum. Thank you for posting the definition.

From Rick:
According to World Book:

1.The act or fact of surviving; continuance of life; living or lasting longer than others.

So I looked up Survive:

To live longer than; outlive; To remain alive after; not die during; To sustain the effects of and continue to live; outlast.

I guess to your first question: Continuance of life.

I'm not sure that is understood when we get the question "What do I need to survive living in the woods". that question is asking,"What do I need to live in the woods when I purposely put my life at risk with no one else around and minimal skills?"

It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone paying attention to this forum that preparation, knowledge and instinct are all important to our survival activities and the equipment we use. These are the things we value as we develop our skills. The posts in this thread reinforces that.

I wasn't quite sure were this would go when I started it. At least reenforces my preparation and practice in survival skills. I have a lot to work on and there are no short cuts to preparation, gaining knowledge developing skills.

Thanks everyone

Ponce
05-20-2009, 01:39 AM
Last man standing........

laughingbeetle
05-20-2009, 01:47 AM
Eh...ok. Hi there. How about you head over to the introductions thread and tell us a little about yourself. No worries, I did the same thing when I joined the forum. Welcome, by the way.:)

laughingbeetle
05-20-2009, 01:57 AM
My small thoughts on survival. To be ready for whatever comes. To survive whatever situation I may find myself in. Mentally, physically, with or without the "proper equipment". To survive means you have the willingness, the strength to persevere through adversity, be it in an urban setting, or the wilderness. I am currently preparing for a 50 mile trek through the northern wilderness areas of the Adirondack Park, here in New York State. I will survive or not depending upon my skills as an outdoors woman. I will be on an established trail. I may or may not have a companion with me. However I don't really know if I should be calling such an adventure survival, rather it will be my vacation.

crashdive123
05-20-2009, 07:18 AM
LB - have a safe and fun trip....and pictures, don't forget the pictures.

Sarge47
05-20-2009, 09:15 AM
Here's hoping that we've all helped you prepare a bit better for your upcoming adventure!:cool2:

Rick
05-20-2009, 09:23 AM
You'll do fine. You are thinking through the event and that's the first step in surviving anything. Good luck, have fun and post some pics!

gryffynklm
05-20-2009, 10:34 AM
LB, it sounds like a great adventure.

You said in your post;

"However I don't really know if I should be calling such an adventure survival, rather it will be my vacation."

I guess that is one of the points I was trying to get at. A survival situation can pop up anywhere at any time. Experienced members and any one who understands the focus of this forum wouldn't purposely go out into a "survival" situation planning only to learn the skills when you get there. For me to take your trek would be a survival situation because I am not at that level of preparation.