Men's Club

PUSHING THE ENVELOPE

This expression brings to mind the following behavioral traits: endurance, stamina, perseverance, and strength. Developing a certain measure of these characteristics would be of use in preparedness for situations in which you had to face some form of deprivation. The most common form of deprivation would be associated with the aftermath of being caught up in natural disasters. The most common of these would be hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and earthquakes. Some degree of mitigation would occur if you had an emergency preparedness kit including dry or freeze dried foods and bottled drinking water. A consequence of these natural disasters are supply chain disruptions, and logistical stumbling blocks involving limited road access.

So how do we go about sharpening the level of the above behavioral traits we would need to survive, if and when we would be forced to face and deal with a catastrophic event. For instance, the television show Survivor is on the extreme end of the spectrum. However, we can practice some form of sleep deprivation by staying up one more hour than our usual bedtime, and escalate the length of time at such a pace you can tolerate. Instead of just fasting for Yom Kippur, try adding another fast day to your arsenal. If you are a runner for physical exercise, and presently run the distance of one mile, set a plan to train for a five mile run next year. One day you may reach the lofty goal of running in a marathon race. The key to success is an incremental approach. Remember in Aesop’s fable, the Tortoise and the Hare, even to this day, the tortoise always wins the race.

Now let us turn from the physical to the mental and spiritual realm. The human mind is like a sponge. The more tidbits of knowledge and information you can store in your brain reservoir, your powers of recall will help you cope in times of need. Treading water means your head is above water, but you are staying in place. We want to have the ability to move forward, and be able to swim safely to the shore.

Shalom!