Alone
Over New Year’s, John and I watched a marathon of the show, “Alone.” The producer distributes 10 people throughout Vancouver Island with the goal of surviving in the vast Canadian wilderness for as long as they can…alone. Get it? The last person remaining wins a large sum of money and innumerable parasites.
It’s fascinating to see different personalities, alone and under stress, try to work out the best way to survive. Some immediately go to work and create a “home” of sorts, while others get by with the bare minimum.
As the days pass and hunger increases, reasons to quit or “tap out” begin to become more frequent.
“This is not what I signed up for,” said by the guy chased by a bear.
“BLEEP! BLEEP! BLEEP!” said by the electrician who can’t hack his way through the brush.
“I can’t survive on one field mouse a day!” exclaimed a Baptist pastor.
“I love being with Mother Earth, but my kids need me,” said by the part-hippie, part-herbalist.
“Uh…I need help. I’ve had an axe accident,” said the firefighter.
“I never realized how hard it would be to be alone,” said ALL of them.
The reasons mounted, until one by one, 9 contestants tapped out. They were done. Wilderness 9. Humans 0.
I sit smugly with my iced Diet Coke while yelling at the TV, “It was only ONE bear! C’mon! You’ve got enough slugs there to last you for at least a week! Can’t you Superglue that cut?!”
In the same breath, I review my 2023 calendar and begin to list all the reasons that I may tap out before I even get started.
“I don’t even know what goals to put on paper.”
“Um…2020…and allll the things after…Need I say more?”
“It wasn’t a bear, but some things have had me running!”
“I think I’ve used all my reserves already!” (Metaphorically…)
Now I know what I’d say to me if I were reading this. The survivalists in the wilderness all knew the pros and cons of their arguments, too. What made the difference in many of them was their “why.” If they had a solid reason for why they were there, they were able to endure and press on longer than those who felt their initial reasoning grow flimsy.
What’s your “why” this year?
Psalm 33:20-22 says,
“We put our hope in the Lord.
He is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord,
for our hope is in you ALONE.”
I can try to live life alone or I can trust in the Lord alone.
I’ve seen what I get when I try to do life alone….a rather sketchy looking psychological lean-to accompanied by a gnawing hunger of wanting more than I can trap.
This year, I’m “tapping out” to self and “tapping in” to Jesus. Bears, rain, winds, wolves, and even murder hornets may come, but my “why” keeps me steady and sure for His “unfailing love surrounds us.”
We’re going to make it another day. Welcome, 2023!
- Alone - January 4, 2023
- My Life Locked? - September 24, 2022
- Pam’s 18 Must-Have Travel Tips - September 20, 2022
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