"Do not go gentle into that good night, old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light" (Dylan Thomas).

Image by Nuno Rebocho from Pixabay

Prologue

The world is a hard place.

Sometimes, you need to fight for every inch you travel or every step you take. You endure the torment and try, to the best of your ability, to survive. No matter what, however, you hang on because getting past the struggle is all you know. The battle is all you can think about for the moment.

These are a few stories of those that have struggled. Those that have "...raged, raged against the dying of the light". These fellow humans would not go gentle into that good night.

Introduction

Image by pixel1 from Pixabay

Welcome, fellow sentient beings, to our fourth installment in the Faith in Humanity series. During this series, we discuss everyday acts of humanity that may either restore your faith in humanity or crush it.

We all have struggles. It is sometimes difficult for us to find inspiration or hope along the way. Stories can help us find our path again or send us into the abyss.

In today's presentation, we learn of people who survive despite the attempts of fate to destroy them, or perhaps, its effort to save them to tell the tale.

#1 - The Vast Open Ocean

Nature provides glorious images of life and landscapes upon this earth. The photos are breathtaking, beautiful, and deceptive. In its deception hides a simple truth: It will kill you if allowed. In our first story, we learn that chance favors the prepared mind (Louis Pasteur quote - Matt Morris).

Background

The Fable

It started with a dream fulfilled in 1973.

Maurice and Maralyn Bailey wished to live on a ship and sail the seas. Selling everything they owned, buying the craft of their dream, they proceeded on their journey to sale across the globe. Fate, however, intended to provide them with a different type of ocean voyage.

A chance collision occurred between their boat and a whale. The whale won. The crash formed at the bottom of the ship and it sank, but not before Maurice and Maralyn escaped on to a life raft. Floating near the coastline, they attempted to signal ships passing, but they remained unseen. Time passed, and so did their hopes of salvation. Desperation setting in, they prepared themselves to endure the elements.

The Reality

And endure them, they did. Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months. The couple eventually fell into a routine of liferaft maintenance to remain afloat, as well as learned to consume the vast ocean life around them raw. They became one with the surrounding ocean environment and, in their isolation, began to forget their past. Maurice and Maralyn became content with their lives and convinced themselves there was nowhere left for them to return.

Fate it seems planned a different ending for this story after almost 120 days stranded out at sea. A Korean fishing vessel spotted and rescued them. Salvation, so it seems, was at hand. Uncertain of their salvation, Bailey's bid farewell in their hearts to the ocean-life that became their norm. They would return to that life if they could.

Maurice and Maralyn Bailey married in 1963. Maralyn Bailey died in 2002 following a battle with cancer while her husband survived until 2018. They continued their dreams of sailing and traveling until the end.

Psychological Review

The actions of the Baileys during their ordeal do not seem to be in keeping with traditional observations of people during times of survival mode (The Psychologist). Researchers typically find that people exposed to a threat take actions that do not improve their chances of survival (The Psychologist).

The suspected causes of this issue involve changes within the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (The Psychologist). In short, when faced with a threat, the body prepares itself physically to endure and respond to that threat. Our bodies do not always enhance our mental abilities to react to that stressful situation.

The Baileys, however, prepared themselves for the journey. They didn't live in the open ocean, so they planned to the best of their abilities and used their training to survive as long as they did. Similarly, the military, as well as emergency response organizations, regularly train under pressure to respond to a variety of scenarios. The goal with training in these organizations is to prepare the body and mind for quick thought under fire.

Short Documentary

#2 - One Life Ended...A Life Sentence Began

Photo by form PxHere

I often wonder about how my life would be if certain events occurred. Would I be a different person if I studied for one high school test? How would I fair in my next job interview if I wore a suit jacket versus a sweater? I'm sure we've all been here wondering similar things. In the case of Mary Vincent, however, events to come would put her into fighting for the rest of her life.

Background

Mary Vincent was 15 years old and wanted to be a dancer. In later years, she would become an artist (Seattle Pi), but not before a horrific turn of events changed her life's course.

Mary was hitchhiking from Nevada to Corona, Ca, when she was picked up by a seemingly honest-looking man (Ranker). The trip took a turn for the horrific when he attacked and repeatedly raped her.
Before leaving her for dead within a concrete pipe, he cut off both her forearms (Ranker).

And then she awoke.

Mary Vincent found herself beaten, violated, and mutilated. She dragged herself from the inside of that pipe. She climbed up to the top of the ravine and walked miles to the freeway. Ultimately, good samaritans saved her. She could have given up. Her desire to live was far more significant.

Her testimony led to the conviction of the monster that attacked her. The legal system's incompetence led to the monster's early release eight years later. When the beast killed again, her second testimony led to his conviction and sentencing to death row.

Despite the horrors of her life, she continued her life. She went to school, had a family, and is an artist (Seattle Pi). She is the proud mother of two boys and is in a relationship. Plagued with memories of that horrific event, she moves forward with a hard-earned life. It seems like a happy ending, and it would be, were it not for the constant terrible reminders of that night.

Plagued by issues wrought from her ordeal, Mary's daily activities are a struggle. Her lack of arms is a constant reminder of what happened. She will never have the opportunity of touching her kids. Despite that, she moves forward.

Short Documentary

#3 - Cut the Rope

Image by Tuan Hung Nguyen from Pixabay

We never truly know when events turn for the worse. No matter the experience, no one can thoroughly prepare you for the unexpected. Sometimes, you have to let go to survive.

Background

In 1985, Joe Simpson and Simon Yates climbed the 6000+ meter rockface named Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes (Mail Online). During their descent, a storm hit, and Simpson fell shattering his leg. Yates slowly, and methodically, continued the descent with Simpson in tow for the majority of the climb down.

I had to read it more than once. Yates carried himself, his injured friend, and their equipment down the rockface of a 6000-meter, approximately 18000-ft (or more) mountain (Mail Online). With a couple of hundred feet to spare before reaching the bottom, tragedy struck again. Simpson began sliding off of the cliff with Yates hanging on desperately. After 90-minutes trying to hold on, Yates himself found that he was starting to slip down.

Instinctively, Yates reached down after constant attempts to call or hear Simpson. There were no sounds. Yates could not hear Simpson. Desperate, and pending certain doom, he reached down and cut the rope holding the two (Mail Online). Grief-stricken at what his need to survive compelled him to do, Yates was as yet unaware that he wasn't the only one with a need to survive.

Battered with his leg in pieces, Simpson awoke inside a void. Instead of succumbing to his injuries, he got angry. His anger at his predicament, and the need to survive this ordeal, became overpowering. It drove him to continue climbing down over three days. He dragged himself into the basecamp and called out to his friend. Understandably, Yates was shocked to find Simpson alive. Yates nursed him into good enough shape for transport where he received medical attention (Mail Online).

Psychological Review

We discussed the role of the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (The Psychologist). They act to enhance the physiological performance of the body during stressful encounters.

What we didn't cover was the presence of a substance called Neuropeptide Y that acts to transmit peptides (Russo et al. - NIH). In animal research, higher levels of this peptide correlate to improved performance in stressful situations. Relatedly, military special forces personnel register a higher concentration of this substance within their blood when compared to their non-military counterparts.

Finally, continued exposure to moderate amounts of stress may improve performance over time (Russo et al. - NIH). There is truth to this finding when I recall my experiences within the military. Constant drills and training embed the needs of that training into my mind and body. It allowed me to act without conscious thought and adapt to variation of the exercise when new events happened in the real world.

Short Documentary

What can Society Do?

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

We can learn to never lose hope. We can learn that, despite ANYTHING that life throws at us, we can, and should, try to endure. Stories similar to what's presented here are just a fraction of the everyday tales we hear of or events we experience. It doesn't have to be a world-changing event. The event could be as simple as a smile someone gives you or the warmth of the sun on your face.

Humanity in Review

Image by wal_172619 from Pixabay

There are amazing stories of people surviving any number of impossible odds. When tragedy visits, we may have the right to choose whether to live or die. For the stories presented today, our survivors chose life.

In Closing

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Thanks again for following on with this series. I look forward to presenting you with additional activities that focus on Humanity in the future.

Each topic presented poses different challenges during research. It is essential to cite all available references for this work to ensure that all readers can validate the information presented as they desire. The goal, ultimately, is the dissemination of accurate and thoughtful information. Unfortunately, some topics are more difficult to research than others.

Your thoughts?

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

How do you feel about the information presented today? Do you have any stories of struggle or survival you wish to share? Enter them in the comments below!