The effort to explore one's deepest fears and most profound hopes is an exercise that quietly defends the essence of one's existence. To the extent that one develops and constructs stories that clarify one's sense of self, we build the essential tools for the defense of our existence as we understand it. It is without question that the notion of survival has a multi-layered understanding that includes ideology, spirit, and a visceral tangibility.

Identity development is a continual process that identifies vulnerabilities and affirms areas of strength. Survival in every sense requires an understanding of existential threats both impending and authentic. Survival is invariably dependent on one's ability to develop internal stories that defend oneself from the forces that would hasten the inevitable expiration of all things. Identity development is essential for survival because it represents the stories, we tell ourselves that explain our understanding of what it means to "be" which is profoundly impacted by the perception of what "is."

To not be vigilant in assessing the stories we tell ourselves to explain our place in the world is to play a pivotal role in our own demise. The survival of an individual, a family, an organization or a nation is often contingent on a commitment and willingness to critically examine the spaces we claim: What is the occupied space? Why does the space matter to us? What in our perception threatens the space? And lastly, what must be learned and done to promote the existence and endurance of the space we perceive and claim?