“Down
there in the darkness was a cistern filled with water so sweet that
he could smell it” (Page 53).
Sun
blazing overhead, heat beating down on me. Skin sizzling, blistering
to the touch. Loss of breath with the weight on my back. The sweet
taste of water running past my lips. The day had been long but as it
drew to its end the match was over. I had played hard and long and
the golf tournament was finally drawing to a close. At that point I
was regretting forgetting water that day and thanked the existence of
such a pure a substance as water. Nothing had ever tasted so good.
In the book, The Road by Cormac McCarthy, the father found a tank of water and he sees it as this sparkly drink that was given to him by the gods. I can relate, maybe not in the same way but being without water for long periods of time does not feel good and when you finally get that first sip of water, it's like liquid gold. The most precious substance, simple but delicious.
On
the bottom of Maslow's hierarchy of needs there are the physiological/biological needs such as air, food, water, shelter, warmth, and sleep. These are
the core needs to survive, for any human. But what does it mean to
truly survive? Sure you need the basics to survive but to live solely
on the pure needs to live on could drive any man mad. Even without
the very basics of needs a human being can survive without food on
average for 3 weeks and depending on many things that include the
weight and build of the person in question could survive for 70 days.
Without water though is a different question. Without water, at very
best, 10 days and then you bite the dust. On average any human can
only live without water for 3 days. Continuing on the most needed of
needs if you find yourself without shelter or proper gear in a harsh environment,
lets say it's a harsh snowy environment, then you will only have 3 hours to
survive. Looking on the even more basic and yet simple thing that we
all take for granted is air. Without air you can live for 3 minutes,
after 3, if you don't die, you will suffer brain damage that will
leave you in a vegetative state.
If you are to survive just remember the rules of three. 3 weeks without food, 3 days without water, 3 hours without shelter, 3 minutes without air.
If you are to survive just remember the rules of three. 3 weeks without food, 3 days without water, 3 hours without shelter, 3 minutes without air.
