Recipe for Life

I first started writing about the Apocalypse when I grew substantially more interested in its portrayal in the media. Needless to say I have been methodically working my way through all manner of video, audio, and written media concerning what may and may not happen at the end of the world as we know it. And at every turn it would appear there is a distinct lack of common sense or at least of common survival instincts.

Every organism has needs, some basic some complex. And the more complex the organism the more those needs affect that organisms chances of survival.

– from “Psychology - The Search for Understanding” by Janet A. Simons, Donald B. Irwin and Beverly A. Drinnien
Maslow has set up a hierarchy of five levels of basic needs. Beyond these needs, higher levels of needs exist. These include needs for understanding, esthetic appreciation and purely spiritual needs. In the levels of the five basic needs, the person does not feel the second need until the demands of the first have been satisfied, nor the third until the second has been satisfied, and so on. Maslow's basic needs are as follows: physiological, safety, belongingness, esteem and self-actualization.
1. Physiological Needs
These are biological needs. They consist of needs for oxygen, food, water, and a relatively constant body temperature. They are the strongest needs because if a person were deprived of all needs, the physiological ones would come first in the person's search for satisfaction.
2. Safety Needs
When all physiological needs are satisfied and are no longer controlling thoughts and behaviors, the needs for security can become active. Adults have little awareness of their security needs except in times of emergency or periods of disorganization in the social structure (such as widespread rioting). Children often display the signs of insecurity and the need to be safe.

3. Needs of Love, Affection and Belongingness
When the needs for safety and for physiological well-being are satisfied, the next class of needs for love, affection and belongingness can emerge. Maslow states that people seek to overcome feelings of loneliness and alienation. This involves both giving and receiving love, affection and the sense of belonging.

For our purposes we only usually need to discuss these 3 groups. In a cataclysmic situation where the Safety Needs and above are out the window folks will naturally revert to taking care of their physical needs first.Its just in our nature. With that being said, further posts will usually concern one or more of the major topics addressed in Physiological Needs: Food, Water, Shelter, Sleep Along with the additional Safety needs of Security, Stability, and Order.

Without our basic needs met and a little order things can go downhill rapidly.

A Preface

A Preface by the Author

Humans are selfish little critters, that much should be obvious. Were inherently programmed to live like every other organism on the planet. To meet a basic set of needs. To strive and struggle to perpetuate our existence over the existence of others. However because we are blessed with the ability to not only observe this behavior but understand it we can separate ourselves from our cave dwelling ancestors and generally get along with one another by establishing morals, rules, and fancy technological ways of putting up barriers between ourselves and the raw brutal way of natural "lesser" life.

But a Widespread Catastrophic Event, Biotic Crisis, Apocalypse or whatever you might call it screws that all up. When the walls of society come crashing down will the human race likewise fall? Questions like this and more have encouraged me to write and talk about the subject with anyone who will listen and so I formed this blog to share with you the readers. I'm hoping that everything I write is already known to you, that every discussed procedure is common knowledge or has at least crossed your mind. If so I'll have a lot more hope for Humanity should the time come when we have to face the raw and brutal Nature of the World once more.

If these guys showed up right now they'd be thwarted by traffic.