Survivor

I write this message to anyone interested in surviving the difficult times which are at our civilization's doorstep. A famous painter once said that a human soul needs bad times as well as good times, and failures as well as triumphs, if they are to flourish. And none can complain that our people have not had ample time in the Sun while other peoples languished in the shade. This is why I see it as divine will that we as a people now suffer.

But since a dead man cannot learn from his mistakes, nor live happily upon this green Earth, I would like to help as many of you as I can through the pain which is to come. Having spent most of my life in a foreign land, several years of which I was homeless, I've learned a few tips for how to survive when hope seems completely lost. I'm by no means an expert, and I could easily drop dead at any moment myself, but even if I do, the fact that I made it four decades on this Earth with next to no support from society means that there is something others can learn from me.

So then, to begin, one must divest oneself from the notion that there is safety in numbers. The truth is that the center of a crowd is the most dangerous place to dwell when trouble strikes. This is because crowds are prone to panic, and also become easy targets for violence. When American infantrymen first stepped onto European soil, they would huddle into large groups on the battlefield, thinking they had found safety. Once the Germans began targeting them with artillery though, they quickly learned to spread their numbers out, so as not to attract the attention of the enemy gunners.

Secondly, a person who wants to survive calamity needs to know what they excel at, as well as what they fail at. This is usually one of the first questions a person gets asked at a job interview, not to learn any specific facts about the job candidate, but to get a sense of how well the person knows themselves. And usually if you take too long to answer that question, it will raise concerns with the interviewer.

So how do you know what you are good at? As a general rule, if you enjoy doing something, the chances are decent that you've devoted a great deal of your time over the years to mastering it, and even if not, you will probably eventually become skilled enough at it with time. And if something does not capture your imagination in the slightest, the chances are very good that you will neglect that area of your life, and it will develop into a profound debilitation. So the longer you live, the more your interests become your strengths, and the more your disinterests become your weaknesses. If you excel at something, you are an asset, but if you let no one know, the world may mistakenly think you have nothing to offer it, and your chances of survival will be greatly diminished.

Third, be very careful which enemies you make. This is a general rule for life, but it applies particularly to difficult times. Fortunes tend to change on a dime in this world, and someone who was in the dredges of the gutter yesterday will be king of the world tomorrow. This is as it should be, for it keeps good people honest, and dooms those who would wantonly mistreat their fellow men and women. It also rewards the faithful, because at a person's worst, they will often have nary an ally in this world save the Lord in heaven, at whose sole discretion it will be whether they live or die. So if you cannot find a compelling reason to condemn your enemy, you are better off not humiliating or destroying them, even if they later seek revenge.

Fourth, find someone who you can trust with your life. You only need one, and they must complement your weaknesses while being a recipient of your strengths. This quest must be of paramount importance to you, because if you cannot find such a person, your odds of survival might as well be cut in half, and even if by some miracle you do make it through the fire, you will likely have lost your mind in the process.

Fifth, do not place too much value on your sanity. Often times in a tense situation, the right move will seem utterly and completely crazy, and only with hindsight will you realize that you did the right thing. But if you listen exclusively to the voice of reason, you may not get a chance to experience that hindsight, as you will indecisively stumble, zigging instead of zagging, turning left instead of right, looking around when you should be ducking, and you will perish. Logic and rationality obviously have their place in the human heart, but they also can prove to be a profound hindrance. So allow yourself to be insane at times, and though you may feel embarrassed, you will live to tell about it.

That is all I can share right now. If anyone else has advice to add, that is what the comment section is for. As always, may you the reader take care, and best of luck out there.