210 lines
6.9 KiB
Plaintext
210 lines
6.9 KiB
Plaintext
[1]Austin Kleon
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• [2]Blog
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• [3]Books
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• [4]Newsletter
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• [8][9]
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You are here: [10]Blog / [11]Miscellany / Beyond survival mode
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Beyond survival mode
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Friday, January 18, 2019
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[11363958_682236831908301_987442953_n-600x600]
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There’s a turn in Dougal Robertson’s [12]Survive The Savage Sea that really
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touched me. It comes on the family’s 25th day as castaways: the sea calms down
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and there’s a “glorious sunset and a peacefulness of the spirit.” The group
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takes turns singing songs to each other. And then:
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I felt that we had already gone beyond thinking in terms of survival. We
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had started living from the sea as an adapted way of life… we no longer
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thought of rescue as one of the main objectives of our existence; we were
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no longer subject to the daily disappointment of a lonely vigil, to the
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idea that help might be at hand or was necessary. We no longer had that
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helpless feeling of dependence on others for our continued existence. We
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were alone, and stood alone, inhabitants of the savage sea.
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Nina Katchadourian talks about how much of the book (her favorite) is really
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about [13]what it’s like to be a family, and I think that’s why this scene
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touched me so deeply.
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There are moments with children, even in a boring, safe, suburban existence
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like mine, where you just feel like you’re in Survival Mode. And every once in
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a while it lifts and you feel like you’ve moved beyond just surviving, and you
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feel like you’re actually living. The children eat their food. You all tell
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stories and laugh. Books after tubs with no whining. You’re a quartet, and
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you’re all performing the same music.
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The reasons these evenings are so wonderful is because they are so rare, and in
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such stark contrast to those Survival Mode days, when you’re just trying to get
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rid of the day as well as you can.
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I’m now thinking about a passage that comes later in the “Analysis” section,
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when Robertson offers his thoughts on surviving in castaway situations:
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If any single civilized factor in a castaway’s character helps survival, it
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is a well-developed sense of the ridiculous. It helps the castaway to laugh
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in the face of impossible situations and allows him, or her, to overcome
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the assassination of all civilized codes and characteristics which hitherto
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had been the guidelines of life.
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“A well-developed sense of the ridiculous”—I cannot think of a better trait for
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a parent!
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Filed Under: [14]Miscellany Tagged: [15]comedy, [16]dougal robertson, [17]
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parenting, [18]survive the savage sea
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[19][ ][20][Search]
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About the author
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[21]Austin Kleon
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[22]Austin Kleon is a writer who draws. He’s the bestselling author of [23]
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Steal Like An Artist and other books. [24]Read more→
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Subscribe to my newsletter
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Join the 200,000+ readers who get it delivered free to their inboxes every
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[30]On This Date
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• 2020: [31]Peanuts, remixed
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• 2019: [32]Drawers
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• 2018: [33]The right book at the right time
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• 2017: [34]Seasonal time
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[42]t-shirts
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• [43]How do you draw time?
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© Austin Kleon 2001–2024
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• [61]Blog
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References:
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[1] https://austinkleon.com/
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[2] https://austinkleon.com/
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[3] https://austinkleon.com/books/
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[4] https://austinkleon.substack.com/
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[5] https://austinkleon.com/speaking/
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[6] https://austinkleon.com/about/
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[7] https://austinkleon.com/contact/
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[8] https://twitter.com/austinkleon
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[9] https://instagram.com/austinkleon
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[10] https://austinkleon.com/
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[11] https://austinkleon.com/category/miscellany/
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[12] https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0924486732/wwwaustinkleo-20/ref=nosim/
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[13] https://austinkleon.com/2019/01/08/of-course-well-make-it/
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[14] https://austinkleon.com/category/miscellany/
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[15] https://austinkleon.com/tag/comedy/
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[16] https://austinkleon.com/tag/dougal-robertson/
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[17] https://austinkleon.com/tag/parenting/
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[18] https://austinkleon.com/tag/survive-the-savage-sea/
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[21] https://austinkleon.com/about/
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[22] https://austinkleon.com/about/
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[23] https://austinkleon.com/steal/
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[24] https://austinkleon.com/about/
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[25] http://facebook.com/mr.austin.kleon
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[28] http://twitter.com/austinkleon
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[29] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8uQnyh7DAfp4uX9RN7XxEw
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[30] https://austinkleon.com/on-this-date/
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[31] https://austinkleon.com/2020/10/02/peanuts-remixed/
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[32] https://austinkleon.com/2019/10/02/drawers/
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[33] https://austinkleon.com/2018/10/02/the-right-book-at-the-right-time/
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[34] https://austinkleon.com/2017/10/02/seasonal-time/
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[35] https://austinkleon.com/steal/
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[36] https://austinkleon.com/steal-audiobook-trilogy
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[37] https://austinkleon.com/keepgoing
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[38] https://austinkleon.com/show-your-work
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[39] https://austinkleon.com/steal/
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[40] https://austinkleon.com/journal
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[41] https://austinkleon.com/newspaperblackout/
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[42] https://cottonbureau.com/people/austin-kleon
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[43] https://austinkleon.com/2024/10/01/how-do-you-draw-time/
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[44] https://austinkleon.com/2024/09/27/a-plan-and-not-enough-time/
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[45] https://austinkleon.com/2024/09/26/autumn-leaves-a-september-mixtape/
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[46] https://austinkleon.com/2024/09/24/human-resources/
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[47] https://austinkleon.com/2024/09/20/cut-out-verbs/
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[48] https://austinkleon.com/books/
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[49] http://austinkleon.com/newsletter
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[50] https://austinkleon.com/category/reading/my-reading-years/
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[51] http://twitter.com/austinkleon
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[52] http://instagram.com/austinkleon
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[53] http://tumblr.austinkleon.com/
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[56] http://facebook.com/mr.austin.kleon
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[57] http://instagram.com/austinkleon
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[58] http://tumblr.austinkleon.com/
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[59] http://twitter.com/austinkleon
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[60] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8uQnyh7DAfp4uX9RN7XxEw
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[61] https://austinkleon.com/
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[62] https://austinkleon.com/books/
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[63] https://austinkleon.substack.com/
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[64] https://austinkleon.com/speaking/
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[65] https://austinkleon.com/about/
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[66] https://austinkleon.com/contact/
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