Walking In The Light

It has always amazed me how the friendly, warm outdoors can become so sinister and foreboding when darkness falls.  If you have ever awakened in the middle of the night during the winter, in a tent, hammock or survival shelter, and can’t go back to sleep, you will pray for the morning light!  Many animals are nocturnal and we aren’t, and our eyes don’t function well in low light conditions.  So we feel hampered and hemmed in by the darkness.  The night seems to amplify each sound and your imagination can run wild about lions, tigers and bears.  This is why being able to have a fire is such a game changer in a survival situation.  It gives comfort as well as light.  If you have ever been out there, you know what I’m referring to.  It’s not that you are afraid of the dark, it’s what’s in the dark that has you concerned.

I prefer to have a headlamp over a flashlight when hiking or backpacking.  It can be particularly useful in a survival situation as it leaves your hands free to work on survival tasks and if you need to go somewhere at night your hands can hold a walking stick or grasp objects for balance or wave a stick around in the air to clear the path of cobwebs and spiders.  Also, a headlamp, being affixed to your forehead, shines wherever you turn your gaze and thus allows you a more normal sight experience.

As I mentioned in a previous post, pay close attention to the battery life listed on the package before you purchase it.  Many of the cheaper versions found in most of the big box stores have pitiful battery lives in comparison to those found in outdoor stores or online.  It is not uncommon to get up to 150 hours of light on three AAA batteries from a Petzl, Black Diamond or Princeton Tec headlamp.  Also, make sure that it is relatively weather proof if not water proof, as I have seen an otherwise good headlamp utterly fail in a survival training class during a heavy rainstorm.  It made things very difficult for my partner and I, but my headlamp was waterproof and we were able to continue on.  This could be disastrous in a real survival situation, so spend your dollars wisely.  You can get a good headlamp for between 20 to 40 dollars.  Do your research before you buy.

While walking in the dark is dangerous in the physical world, it is utterly foolish to do so in the spiritual realm.  Jesus is the Light of the World and the Light of Life.  When you walk in darkness, your life is filled with the sinful things of this world.  When you walk in the Light, it means that you are being obedient to the Scriptures as well as the Leadership of the Holy Spirit.  This is why we need Sunday School and church services as we need to be educated and encouraged and shown the light.  We need leaders in our churches who will boldly say, “This is the Way that Pleases God, walk in it!”  Learn to love, cherish and support those who will preach and teach the Light to you.  It will keep you from falling into the pit and snare of the Enemy.  If we walk in the Light as He is in the Light, then we have fellowship, one with Another, and the blood of His Son, Jesus, cleanses and purifies us from all sin.  Walk in the Light!

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PS. You can check out my website where you can set up training for many of these skills at www.waypointsurvival.com and look at and order my custom knives at www.benderknifeworks.com.

James B.