Microstory 307: Shelter

This is an experimental Stepwisdom microstory. The introduction can be found in Microstory 300. More to follow.

It is said that you can survive three minutes without air, three hours without shelter, three days without water, and three weeks without food. Now, remember that each progressive step operates under the assumption that you have all steps before it taken care of. Today, I’m going to talk to you about the second one. Three hours without shelter doesn’t mean that you can’t survive being outside without dying. This is referring only to being in a rough environment, such as the forest in the dead of winter, or the middle of a desert. This is also not so much a rule as it’s a sliding scale and a guideline that adjusts from person to person, and is designed to illustrate the relationship between these vital needs. There are many kinds of shelters, the most obvious being houses and other permanent dwellings. But to qualify as a shelter, a structure need only be large enough to fit at least one person, and have room for them to move around without altering the structure (e.g. not clothing). Different cultures at different time periods develop different kinds of homes. At the dawn of man, we were still living inside naturally occurring structures like caves. As time marches on, humankind is designing and developing ever more sophisticated architecture, ranging from enormous skyscrapers to deep underground bunkers. The key is to get out of the elements and to keep out unwanted guests like insects and potentially dangerous strangers. Not everyone in the world has access to shelter. Some live in community shelters, but are still considered homeless, because these places do not belong to them. Those worse off will sleep outside, with little to no protection. They even sometimes have limited protective clothing. Having a place to call home is a basic human right. We really are all in this together.