I was talking to someone the other day in passing. You know, pleasantries. "How's it going?" "Pretty good." "What ya' been up to?" "Not much..." And then they said something that struck me as sad, "Just trying to survive. I guess that's what all of life is about these days."
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That's a load of B.S. Survival as a state of being sucks.
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Don't get me wrong. I'm as interested in self-defense and wilderness survival and emergency preparedness as the next guy. In aikido, we're always preaching that the ultimate goal of an encounter is survival - not winning or vengeance. And survival sure beats the alternative.
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But still, Survival sucks. It is a state that you want to move beyond as rapidly as possible. Ask anyone who waited out Katrina in New Orleans. Ask a Hatian. Ask a Thai survivor of the 2004 tsunami.
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As soon as you can, you have to stop surviving and get back to thriving!
[photo courtesy of Wikipedia]
