“Alone?”
By Deacon Rod Knight
The History Channel has a show called Alone. It is a contest to see who can last the longest in a survival situation. It is not a true survival situation due to rules that one must follow, which can make things a bit more difficult. Each “survival expert” is allowed ten items and will be dropped off in a remote area and expected to survive as long as they can. They all are equipped with a satellite phone and may call to tap out and be extracted at any time, game over.
The show gives some background information on the individual contestants and shows them practicing their craft. They must hunt, fish and forage for their food, they must find and procure drinkable water and construct a shelter in harsh environments such as the Artic Circle, Vancouver Island, or Patagonia. Bears, mountain lions, wolves are also part of the equation.
Many do well, gathering food, water and constructing shelter and some do not. It is a struggle and the longest I have seen anyone last is ninety days. Minimal food, the fear of predators, lack of water, the elements all take a toll, but it is isolation and being alone that is the hardest. The missing of their families and human contact stalks them the second they are dropped off.
The hardest part of survival is being alone. Why?
Because we are made for communion. Communion with our Creator and each other.
We are made for love, which requires another. In many real-world survival situations, it has been the love of family, or an individual that has caused the survivor to keep going against all odds. The power of love.
I have three German Shepherds, (does that make me a hoarder?). Many of you have Labradors. The German Shepherd is a herding dog, and the Labradors are retrievers, both great breeds. But if they are not permitted to do what they have been bred for they can be destructive and make you miserable. Same with people, we are made for communion to know, love, and serve God.
The words of one of my formators in the Diaconate, Deacon Jerry Rynda, haunt me at times; “Go deeper.” So, I try to find God in places most people do not look; silly because He is everywhere. Now I am comparing the series “Alone” to life, and death.
When our time comes to enter eternal life, will we have practiced our faith, utilized the sacraments, and truly prepared to enter by the narrow gate? Will we have Bread (Viaticum) for the journey? Will we recognize our Shepherd’s voice? If we have not, are we prepared to be alone, separated from God? I cannot comprehend how painful that must be. The inability to fulfill our purpose. In being alone there will be no way to tap out.
What about those who are still alive and by situation are alone? Those in hospitals, nursing, and memory care facilities? The widows and widowers, the homebound? They have human contact, but most of it is task oriented in their care. How painful is their loneliness?
These are the alone that can still be helped. A card, a call, a visit can be the food they need to survive. Want to be a hero? Rescue someone who is isolated and alone. Build that relationship and we may come to realize that it is them that has rescued us.