Where today's pin of the month comes from is a little bit of a mystery. It links to http://www.notonthehighstreet.com so that is the link that I will provide to you. The reason that I chose it is because faith is a survival topic that is often not spoken about or shied away from. I was brought up as a Roman Catholic and married a Lutheran man. Nowadays we don't really identify with any specific branch, we just consider ourselves Christians. We teach our children the morals of the Christian beliefs and thank God everyday for our family, our friends and our food. In my novels I tend to introduce my religious beliefs through the statements of various characters and I have received some positive comments for that but also some negative ones.
It is my belief that faith and spirituality are absolutely essential in a long term survival situation. This does not mean that you have to believe in the same God I do or in a God at all. It means that you need to have faith that you are here for a reason. A spiritual belief that all people are created equal and you should treat others how you would like to be treated. In a long time survival situation all of your moral beliefs will be put to the extreme test and you will need to have them clearly defined before you are ever presented with a disaster. In my books I try to bring these types of moral tests to life to get readers thinking about what they might have to face and the decisions they might have to make. Lets explore the three main reasons I feel faith and spirituality are key to survival:
Spirituality will drive you - I mentioned before that the belief that you are here for a reason will keep you alive and it's true. If you don't have this inner fire you will not have the will to go on when you are tested. Having a belief that you are an important piece to a bigger puzzle will keep your mind focused on survival and overcoming whatever obstacle you are presented with. Having this strength of mind will help your body perform and heal. The mind is a powerful thing and just having the right attitude can work miracles.
Your enemies may be fighting you with faith - Some of the obstacles you may encounter in a survival situation are other people. As I mentioned in point one the mind is a very powerful thing. If your enemy is set on their beliefs and their beliefs include killing others for the sake of their faith you will be in a very sticky position if you are not concrete with your own beliefs. Humans have fought religious wars since the beginning of written history. One can never be sure what is right and wrong here unless you have talked to God yourself. It is my belief that a God who created such a wonderful being as humans would never want us to kill one another and definitely not for the sake of that God. That being said, not everyone believes the same thing. An enemy with the faith of their god behind them can be a powerful adversary.
Faith and spirituality can help you maintain good moral consciousness - As a Christian, I believe that it is not right to steal, kill, rape, or generally treat others any different than you would want to be treated but in a survival situation those beliefs will be tested. When you are protecting your family and trying to keep their bellies full it will be tempting to steal from others or kill them for what they have. Many people speak easily of that now but when it comes down to it how would your conscious handle that? This is a question I still ask myself over and over. In the Bible the Lord says he will provide his followers with what they need. Is your faith strong enough to believe that you will be okay? That your children will be okay? Even those of us who prep and stock will eventually run out of supplies in a long term survival situation or your storage may be compromised in the disaster. I always felt that raiding would be appropriate at a time like that. As long as you weren't hurting anyone to secure those supplies but morally I know it is not right to steal the property of others. Obviously this is a choice that I myself still struggle with but my faith is strong. God has always protected me and led me to a path in life that satisfies my needs, even if sometimes I selfishly want more. I have a wonderful, healthy family and a husband who supports me. We have had challenges but we have always grown stronger through adversity, thanks in part to our faith in one another and God to guide us where we need to be. If faced with a disaster we would have to maintain those beliefs and believe that God has us right where he wants us to be.