Using Your Head

Ok, now I know all of you have read at least some on the subject of individual survival. This is a major subject that is very important in our daily lives as well as in our duty as militia. This is NOT going to be a list of things you need to survive or how you survive in the woods. This is going to be the first of several articles that will unlock the issues that are seldom discussed in “survivalist” circles, and rarely talked about in the militia/patriot community.

What we have to do first is get away from the technology and the gizmos that we have all come to love and cherish. When folks first get into the world of “survival”, they go after all the “stuff” that is “required” to survive.
They believe that having the latest greatest survival/military gear is the ONLY way to go. They want to have so much that they come into some serious problems.

#1. They have so much they can’t tote it.
#2. They rely on modern technology to help them, (GPS, batteries, etc).
#3. They lose their creativity.
#4. They don’t think.

While it’s good to have quality items such as a good knife, having the knowledge and instinct of survival is the key principle. Knowing how to make a knife is more important than carrying one. Understanding how to start a fire is more important than carrying matches, a lighter, or a mag bar.

A lot of people just don’t understand the level of understanding they can gain if they would use their brain over their tools. There’s a little known or discussed phenomenon that I can’t quite put my finger on. It’s basically an “enlightened” level of thought. It is the understanding I have slowly come into over the years and it is absolutely the best thing I have in my arsenal of survival items. It’s basically just learning to be creative. How many of you have seen MacGyver? Now I know that a lot of his stunts are fictional but he gets the point across of using the brain. Our minds are the most highly adaptable and potent weapons in the universe. It is the number one item we should have ready in our preparations. Here’s a simple example of what I’m getting at.

A typical “greenhorn” survivalist will take his or her gear into the wilderness and make good headway with plenty of high morale. But as soon as one of his tools breaks, such as his knife, he will immediately go into a sort of panic state. He’ll be left wondering what in the world he’s supposed to do. It’s the same thing with fire-starting. Matches get wet and the fire is not gonna happen.

Now here’s where the idea of utilizing our brains come into play. So what, your knife breaks? You lost your lighter? Well, the thing to do is remain calm, and think. Think about how you are a human whose ancestry had gotten by without that $70 knife with the tools that now no longer work because the steel bent. Think about how they made fires for millennia WITHOUT that so-called flint and steel mag bar. Think about your situation and think about how simple it really is. You need a knife right? Well, if it’s for self-defense then sharpen a piece of oak wood. If it’s for cutting, then find a piece of glass or better yet just break a rock. There, that simple.

It’s all in the mind. Just Think.