A matter of survival?

The mechanisms that people and animals adopt in order to survive, defend themselves, cope with situations..

Porcupines inflate themselves and their coat of sharp quills, fending will would-be attackers with the possibility of being very painfully pricked.

Octupuses eject a thick blackish ink in a large cloud, leaving behind them an inky trail as they escape. blinding their attackers.

Deer have their fearsome antlers that could gore you through in several places. They can also run away. (Haha...)

Human beings?

Homo sapiens are complex beings, and have complex methods of ensuring survival.

The fiestier ones confront and stay on to fight. Others go by a more subtle and roundabout way of resolving issues. Some run away. Some more jump off buildings. A few go on killing rampages.

Others walk away.

Walking away is an act of courage. Sometimes. To inexorably walk away from certain people and situations requires a making up of the mind, a detemination to move on, for better or for worse. You walk away from relationships or friendships that are not worth it. You walk away from temptation. You walk away from the old to go to a better place.

Other times, it's an act of cowardice, a form of escapism and not facing the facts and issues inherent. We switch off in unpleasant situations and wander away in our minds to beautiful places where everything is what we ever wanted it to be. We walk away from confrontations because we're tired and we don't think we can face the tears, the argumentative reasonings that are just part and parcel.

Unfortunately, it's not obvious sometimes, for which reason one is walking away. Are we being brave and 'being a man, doing the right thing'? Or are we in actual fact, cowards, rats abandoning a sinking ship? Do we go or do we stay?

Well, if you don't know, I don't know either. Sometimes, I guess, you just have to keep walking, keep walking because if you don't, you'll just sink into the ground and die or something.

So we just have to keep on walking, trudging, plodding, hiking, climbing. Until the road becomes more even, and we're able to see a path set out before us, showing us the way which we should walk, when before, we see nothing but wild grass and trees and no way out.

So, I guess I'll just keep walking. (I just have to make sure I have good walking shoes on.)

So, just keep on walking....