Live Slow. Love Big.
A story of survival, surrender, and the presence of God in the wild
Alone Australia is a survival reality television series where 10 individuals are dropped into the wilderness to survive in complete isolation. Contestants must build shelter, find water and source food while enduring extreme weather and physical exhaustion. They are required to self-document their experience on camera, with medical help only available if they choose to ‘tap out.’ The last person remaining wins $250,000.
Ben Grieger, a member at St Peter’s Loxton, was selected as a contestant on Alone Australia Season 3. This season was on the remote west coast of Tasmania, known for its wild weather. Ben shares his journey, his faith, and what he has learnt from his time on Alone.
“I’ve always loved bushcraft and survival. It’s just part of the way God has made me; there’s just something primitive, raw and adventurous about it. I remember when my twin brother and I received a copy of the SAS Survival Guide for our 10th birthday. Something came alive in me as I looked through those pages. I just wanted to get amongst it and have a crack at honing my survival skills.
I’ve always loved the show Alone and watched all the US series and Australian series. As I watched, I found myself saying, ‘I could do that … I want to do that … I should do that.’ I was drawn to the opportunity to test my limits and to participate in a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.
I learnt a lot about myself. Being completely alone in nature gives you a really amazing perspective on your life. It allows you to zoom out and look at your life with fresh eyes and greater clarity. As my time went on, I learnt the importance of slowing down and resting, being still and knowing and experiencing God’s love (Psalm 46:10). I learnt that the crazy pace we often live at in our modern life is often not very kind to our hearts and mind, and that slowing down and resting is good for us. I learnt that I often haven’t processed emotions as well as I could have. I realised that in the past I have often treated ‘negative’ emotions as problems to be solved and not as feelings to be felt.
Being on my own for that period of time definitely expanded my emotional range. The highs were really high and the lows were really low. And I learnt that’s okay. It’s okay to be sad and to sit in that pain and sadness for a while. Sadness and suffering is often where God meets us. He cares about us and his grace is more than enough to carry us through (2 Corinthians 12:9). As I came to learn this, a growing peace just settled over me. It was beautiful. It was a peace that totally surpasses all human understanding and I had the privilege to live in that constantly. I gradually learnt to surrender the outcome to God and it was life changing. As my time went on and I got weaker and weaker, I found myself praying constantly, ‘Your Kingdom come. Your will be done. Your kingdom come. Your will be done.’ Just praying it over and over again. In fact, this is what I was praying in my heart as the doctor and producer deliberated whether to pull me from the show … I just kept surrendering the outcome to God in the moment and was praying for his peace.
I also learnt that God doesn’t come to us the way we expect him to. To quote CS Lewis, ‘he’s not a tame lion’. I was expecting God to speak to me really directly and clearly while I was out on the land like he had at times throughout my life. He did this a little bit, but not as much as I thought he would, instead he gently prompted me to rest and reflect. He taught me a new way to encounter him. It was really cool and really kind.
Everything was a lot harder out there. Staying warm and dry and clean was really hard. Going weeks without eating makes you really weak and during those times when you are cold, tired, hungry and missing your family like crazy it’s really tough. That little voice in your head that tells you to just ‘give up and tap out’ gets really loud and it takes a lot of energy to stay focussed and stay strong. At times the longing for home would be so strong. It was like this current that threatened to sweep me away and all I could do was to cling to God and to hold onto my goals.
I also found myself singing a lot while I was out there, especially praise and worship songs. I also prayed a lot out there but I was conscious to never really do this on camera. Sure, I spoke about God when it was on my heart but I never felt right praying out loud. It was something that should be between me and God and I really valued these ‘private times’ when I would turn my cameras and microphones off and just spend time with God.
I definitely desire to live my life at a slower pace. This is easier said than done. But I long to slow down more and invest more in the really important things in life rather than just bouncing from one busy thing to the next. A motto that I’ve come up with and want to live by is: Live slow. Love big. My time alone has taught me that there is a kinder pace to live our lives if we can somehow embrace it.
My wife Lauren has been an amazing support especially throughout our Alone journey. We often talk about how there were two survival challenges going on at the same time. Me out on the land and Lauren at home looking after our three wonderful kids, Daniel, Joshua and Mikayla. She is my bride and my best friend and I am so thankful to her for her love and support. She wrote me a letter to open just before I went out onto the land and the love and support in that letter helped carry me through some really tough times. Knowing that I had her love and support meant so much to me. I don’t think I could have done it without her, and I certainly wouldn’t have wanted to without knowing that I had her support and knowing that we were in it together.
I also want to give a shout out to my band of brothers prayer group: Brent, Dazza, Simon, JK and Tim. I love these guys and their support has been immeasurable. We are always praying for each other and supporting each other and I value their friendship, faith and support. I encourage everyone, especially all the fellas out there, to form a band of brothers and do life together; growing together as iron sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17).
I’m thankful for my upbringing in the church. My Mum and Dad have been such a positive influence on my life. The legacy of love and faith they have passed down to me, inherited from their parents and grandparents is priceless. They have definitely played a massive role in shaping me. One of my biggest comforts whilst being out on the land were the hymns I learned off by heart whilst growing up in St John’s Lameroo. Often times I would be lying freezing in my shelter at night, so cold that I was shivering uncontrollably and couldn’t really control my breathing. Panic would build inside me and would threaten to take over and then I would find myself singing, ‘make me warm, when I am cold. Make me young when I am old. Move me, touch me inside. Let your love burn in me now.’ Those lyrics written on my heart were so precious and such a comfort. I sang them again and again and again through gritted teeth as my whole body shook with uncontrolled shivering. Gradually the words warmed my heart and the panic would subside. I was still cold as anything but I was okay. I was okay because I knew God was with me and everything would be okay and that was such a comfort. There is power in praising our God. It allows something in us to shift and helps us fix our hearts and eyes on God.
The same was true of scripture. I tried to memorise as much scripture as I could before going out on the land and declaring those passages was such a comfort. They allowed me to keep my eyes fixed on God and to not give in to that little voice in my head that kept getting louder and louder, telling me to just tap out and give up. Reciting scripture and singing praises was a game changer in terms of keeping me focussed on the right things.
Some important verses for me were Joshua 1:9, John 6:35, Isaiah 54:7, and Psalm 3:3.
I was eventually medically extracted from the experience after 40 days for having ‘dangerously low blood pressure’ and losing too much weight. I had lost 25 kgs in 40 days and physically I was just a shell of a man. The smallest movements would exhaust me and make me feel like I was about to pass out. Despite this, my heart was full of joy and peace and I had this unshakable certainty that God was with me and was guiding my journey. To experience 40 days in the wilderness was really humbling and special and I thank God for my time out on the land.
That’s just a snippet of my time out on the land and how my faith helped me. I hope it can be an encouragement to others.”
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A family photo, shown above, was taken just before Ben left and was the only one he was allowed to take with him. ‘I looked at it every night before bed as I prayed for them and blessed them goodnight,’ Ben reflects.
Ben recalls the special moment when he returned home and was able to worship with his church family again, ‘we’re not perfect by any means, but we are a family. We love and support each other, and that’s a special thing.’
To follow Ben’s adventure on Alone Australia Season 3, you can stream the season on SBS on Demand at https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-series/alone-australia/season-3
This article first appeared in the June 2025 edition of the SA-NT District Together Magazine (Volume 32 / Number 2).
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