Spirituality and Survival

Written by Joe Alton, M.D., aka Dr. Bones of doomandbloom.net

I just wanted to share a few thoughts on spirituality and survival. Survival certainly involves being prepared for disasters, getting your food storage, medical supplies, and all your other ducks in a row. But getting your spirit in order could be one of the most important things you can do to prepare for the uncertain future.

When I was young, I read Charles Dickens’ classic “A Christmas Carol”.  In it, Old Scrooge meets the spirit of Christmas Present, represented by someone who reminded me of a survivalist Santa Claus.   He came with a banquet room full of riches, but these weren’t the riches that really mattered.  His lesson to Scrooge: The riches that do matter are your relationship with mankind, and what you have done to make the world a better place for your having been in it.

Most of the riches you’ll experience should be simple:  things like a walk in the woods, a blue sky, a rain shower, a smile on a child’s face.  Experiencing these things is what really makes a person rich: Rich in spirit, and that, my friends, will get you through the toughest times.

I’m a Christian, but whatever you believe in, a benevolent Providence, the wonder of nature, or just yourself, having a sense of spirituality in your life can only make it richer.  I always stress that learning is the key to maintaining your family’s health in times of trouble, but you don’t have to know a lot to be a spiritual person. What you do have to know is how to make the lives of others better by your presence.  If you can do this, you and your family’s resilience in any adversity, whether it’s a natural disaster, an economic collapse, or even something personal, will keep things together, even if everything else falls apart.

Think a little about what you can do to make your community a better place. Put a little time and effort into improving the lot of your fellow man, and you will become rich in spirit and worthy of survival in hard times

An example of how spirituality will help you survive is the case of Lt. Commander Ned Shuman, POW and veteran of the infamous prison “The Hanoi Hilton”..Nine days earlier, after a failed attempt by U.S. Special Forces to liberate the prisoners, the North Vietnamese removed Ned and 42 other POWs from their cells and incarcerated them in a single holding area. For several men, it was the first face-to-face encounter with friends they had made since their capture.

The first Sunday after they were removed from their cells, they attempted to hold a church service but were threatened with severe punishment. Seeing the men’s disappointment, Lt. Cmdr. Shuman — a naval aviator who would spend five years as a POW — stepped forward. “I want to know — person by person— if you are really committed to holding church services,” he said, asking each of the other 42 men for support until he achieved a unanimous commitment.

The following Sunday, they tried again. This time, Cmdr. Shuman, the highest-ranking officer in the group, began to lead the soldiers in the Lord’s Prayer. The guards quickly grabbed him and took him away to be tortured. The remaining officers, however, continued reciting the prayer in unison, drowning out the shouts of the North Vietnamese guards who were beating them with gun butts.

From then on — until the men were released with other long-serving POWs as part of Operation Homecoming in 1973 — they held a weekly church service. Everett Alvarez Jr., a naval aviator who was held as a POW for 8¹ / ₂ years by North Vietnam and at one time served as deputy administrator of the Veterans Administration commented. “For those of us who were religious or spiritual, it was a very important part of our morale, optimism, and overall, it was a part of our survival.”