Survival!

Most of us learn how to survive in a world that has its own conditions and expectations, and we somehow find a balance between expressing our uniqueness; our free spirit and our independence, while all the time presenting a degree of conformity!

It seems like a complex and important  balancing act is performed, which I suppose it is, because non-compliance can result in social  isolation, friction, and possibly time in a system where human contact is minimal! It can also result in financial hardship such that staying alive is the number one priority.

Ray’s earlier life as a stray would have taught him some basic survival skills also, some of which would be similar to mine. He would have to perform a similar balancing act to avoid conflicts with other animals, and yet be prepared to establish his right to food as necessary. He would have to carefully decide whether to stand his ground, or back away from delicate situations.

I cannot remember how I acquired the picture below, but I find it not only rather amusing, but very appropriate!

quote-survival

There are numerous times when it has been wise to say nothing, and there are times when “Go with the flow” suddenly makes so much sense and, of course, there are occasions when keeping a low profile is critical!

There are other situations where survival is used in the context of maintaining relationships and, for me more recently, in maintaining thought provoking dialogues. “Literary jousting” comes to mind as an appropriate term to often describe circumstances I find myself in when there are humorous undertones to the dialogue! Survival is then dependent on literary gymnastics, diversions, confusion, and (as in politics) total avoidance of all facts. One quote which comes to mind is  “”When all else fails, complicate matters” – I love that one.

Survival is necessary at so many levels  and living dictates having a working knowledge of all of them. Looking back at that picture, what would you do if you were a fox and found yourself in the middle of a pack of hounds? Food for thought!

21 thoughts on “Survival!”

  1. Pingback: My Picks Of The Week #39 | A Momma's View

  3. I agree with amommasview. Lessons in life teach us how to choose our battles wisely, and the fox is clever enough to know what he needs to do to save his own life while standing with these hounds. There are times to speak up, and there are times to keep the mouth closed.

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  4. Great post, great thoughts… what would I do… Well, I guess if I’d a fox among those hounds I would definitely try to blend in. Seems clear to me that it would be about pure survival. I believe that you have to choose wisely which battles are worth fighting and which ones are better left out. You need to spend you energy at the right time. If I’d be this fox it would seem that stirring up the hounds would cost me way too much. No way to come out of it unharmed. So not worth it… I rather wait for a better chance.

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  8. Loved this. It’s all so true. Social media of any sort has a huge impact too as there is no face to read or tone to analyze. No body language at all (I don’t count emojis because I never know what they really mean). I love the picture and the quote.

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