Self-Sufficiency & Self Reliance - What we once were versus what we have become.
Remember that time that a global pandemic completely changed our lives?
Food scarcity, hoarding of supplies, service shut downs, overloaded medical facilities, fear of the unknown, rioting in the streets of our cities, social distancing, lock down... Before this tragic time people laughed at the talk of "preppers" or people with thoughts of preparedness. Though the world did not end, aliens did not attack, nor did zombies take over bodies and roam the world with intent to eat us alive, however... when the panic set in deep to everyone's minds, the chaos surrounding 'what to do' 'where to go' and ' how to react' took over. And all there was were only a few choices, denial, compliance, or adaptation.
In my mind, the tragedy of 2020 brought awareness right to everyone's front door step and rang their bell. Like a single rose blossoming from a bush full of thorns we now know that not only are the systems we rely on so fragile, but they have never been set up to truly serve the people and serve them well. Call us preppers, call us hippies, call us paranoid, call us whatever you want, but when the structure collapses don't call someone else to bail you out. It's time to learn how to live with out someone else's hand to spoon feed you the things you need to sustain a life.
Learn to grow food. Learn to harvest meat. Learn to raise livestock for consumption, amongst other uses. Learn a new hobby like sewing, making yarn, knitting a sweater. Learn to work with your hands. Learn to use your mind. Learn to fix it yourself, rather than throw it away for new. Learn to have confidence in your capabilities and pride yourself on the willingness to gain skills that might come in handy, even if they are not 'necessary' right now. Let the memory of dark histories remind you that we never know what life might bring us tomorrow or the next day or the next.
I am calling out to you from the deepest place in my heart because we as humans were never meant for this modern life. Not only in the area's of the flawed industrialized food system, genetically modified foods and misleading media telling you what is OK to put into your body and what is not. I personally may focus on those systematical short comings more often than some of the other issues in the world. But I like to start small, I cut my food into bite sized pieces before I start eating it. I pay close attention to the small facts before indulging in the easy alternatives. We must eat to survive. We must eat well to be in good enough health to survive. Food is the beginning, the constant, the thing we each have the power to control. Change in this world starts in the little thoughts, actions and reactions. This world relies on us to not only make the leap, but to consciously try to make it come to fruition.
In the areas where we have grown to unthinkable heights; like medicine and technology, humans have regressed to learned helplessness far deeper than one pandemic can teach them to turn around. And the helplessness is not only living in the pre-packaged nutrient deficient food in your cupboard, its in all part of our lives that we rely on others to supply what you are in need of.
Re-Learn self reliance. Because no matter how far we get in education, there once was the single person who put in the work, dedication and time to figure it out in the first place. The more you know, the more you can teach others and the greater we will be prepared for anything.
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