Recently I have been obsessed with watching a reality show, “Marooned with Ed Stafford.” In the show, he is dropped into the most hostile environment to survive for ten days without food, water, clothes, and tools, such as Botswana’s Okavango Delta in Southern Africa, Venezuela’s grand Sabana grassland, and Mongolia’s Gobi Desert.
I can’t imagine how a person can survive in such conditions. In Ed’s battle with Mongolia’s Gobi Desert, where has an eternal blue sky because it sees so little average rainfall and daytime temperatures usually exceed 40 degrees, his most urgent mission is to find water. Since the landscape is pretty much the same in every direction, which is plain and no sign of vegetation, the only option left for Ed was to climb the mountain ridge, hoping to find an oasis within. Nearly for three days climbing, he had no water at all. He had to sleep on the rock fully exposed to the wind. By his hand and brain, he finds water, builds up his shelter and campfire, collects enough food to support him. After having these four fundamentals in surviving, instead of just surviving, he decides to thrive.
In the entire episode, Ed’s optimism has been the most influential on me. No matter what he is facing, even when he figures out a bear probably pretty close to his water source, he can smile. I think surviving is all about psychology. Indeed, if you start to believe sadly, things probably will not get better. Strong is a distinction from one’s heart. Also, I can not help myself feel the power of nature and feel grateful for everything I have today. I don’t need to eat raw bugs, and I have a comfy bed with a roof on my head. I am thankful.
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