This is a response to the one-word prompt “survival” by “The Daily Post.”
We all have a survival instinct, it is in all human beings, indeed in every living creature. It is part of the evolutionary process. Yet, for us humans survival is not enough. It is not enough just to mealy get by basic substance. We have to thrive, to live. This has been the case throughout human history from the very beginning and will be the case to the very end.
Yes, we all have the drive to survive and make it in life, to have a successful career and raise a family and all that. But life is so much more than just that. Those things are important, but we can’t just go through life with just the essentials, we need more, we need to enjoy life. We need to take life as it is, and enjoy both the complex and the simple.
What’s the point of making money to feed yourself and put a roof over your head, if you are not also going to go out with friends and go to a play or any number of things that the world has to offer? What’s the point of raising a family if you are not going to spend time with them because you are too busy providing for them? The answer is not much of a point if there is no actual living, and enjoyment of life.
If a parent takes no pride and joy in spending time with his/her children because he/she is too focused on providing basic substance and such for them, that is not only depriving the children of a good life but the parent’s as well. Survival or having the basic necessities of life does come with thriving or living one’s life to the fullest, but thriving does not necessary come with survival. Thriving is more than surviving, it is living.
To survive one needs more than just the basic food, water and shelter needed to stay alive; one needs to have social interaction with family, friends and so forth. One needs to be able to say all this hard work is worth it, no matter if that hard work is for themselves or others. So when working to provide for yourself or others, make sure that you are enjoying life and not just trudging it along. Make sure that you are actually living and not just surviving!