quote:
Originally posted by HeatherHead:
The simple answer to the question, "Am I satisfied with my level of self sufficiency?" is "No." And "Yes."...
...So, honestly, I'm not really striving for self-sufficiency. I'm striving for a better, stronger, more resilient (and local) community. And to make myself useful to that community. And on that score, no, I'm still not where I'd like to be. But I'm getting there, bit by bit.
Thanks for your reply. You bring up many a good point. Here is another good book if you like the Little House series. You can get it at the library.
http://www.amazon.com/Letters-Homesteader-Elinore-Pruitt-Stewart/dp/0395911516I'd like add that a potion of Laura Ingalls Wilder's books are fiction. So we must all keep that in mind. That being said, I was familiar with few of her detailed recounts of works and processes and I can attest they are 100% accurate.
Community was always a popular topic on the old survival; groups I used to be on. Especially with the women. The men survivalist like to talk about guns and mechanics. The women like community and other domestic topics. Although we had a few ladies that were good at killing livestock.
When it comes to the topic of communty....my discussion of this topic from 2 earlier posts to that group.
Post #1I can see we all have different ideas of 'community.'
Recently one lady talked about 'creating community.'
I talked about 'not creating community' - but working with my existing community. (or not working with it in my case.)
Before we can proceed with any discussion of community, we have to define in exact terms what community means and more important what one expects from such a community.
Always remember ~ expectations are pre-planned resentments.
What sort of expectations do I have?
Very few expectations.
My idea of 'community' is one where I can go out of my house and not get shot or attacked. (Actually, this is a 'hope' and not an 'expectation' or I would not prepare self defense measures for such a hope to be destroyed.)
After all, I grew up and lived in L.A. for 35 years. So, my 'hope' that my community does not kill me is my main concern.
One definition of community is:
'A social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage."
How do I define my community?
I define it first as the small cul de sac I live on...then it broadens to the street going up the hill...then it broadens to an adjoining street that leads to the main road. Maybe 75 to 100 houses in my little community.
If I wish to think big, then my community is my town of 30,000 people.
It seems that many of you are thinking more of developing a 'communal living or communist style' that the hippies were famous for. Well, that is fine, but say so up front.
I have no plans to sell my house, buy 50 acres and advertise for some like minded survivalists that wants to live off the land. (A side note: it has been said that the minimum one should shoot for is one acre per person for self sufficient living.)
And to be frank, most survivalist are not who I'd choose to hang around with.
For example. There is lady about 15 miles a way that raises free range eggs. I buy some of her eggs, but when the gas runs out I wont be able to drive 15 miles to buy them. But I don't wish to live with her or have her for a neighbor...I don't like her personality...just like to buy her eggs.
As I said, neighbors are like family your stuck with what you got. Even if you hand pick your commune, people, change, people die, people go wacky...in short people are a pain in the ass to deal with.
Look at our members at misc_survivalism_moderated@yahoogroups.com We have 3835 members in our community. How many offer something back to it on a regular basis? About 1%...if that?
A few links for your perusal
http://www.sustainablemeasures.com/Training/Indicators/Cmmunty.htmlhttp://pathtofreedom.com/journal/http://www.thefarm.org/lifestyle/cmnl.htmlhttp://www.thefarm.org/lifestyle/root1.htmlA couple of old classics:
How to live on almost nothing and have plenty : a practical introduction to small-scale sufficient living
by Janet Chadwick
Self-sufficiency gardening: financial, physical, and emotional security from your own backyard
by Martin P. Waterman
Post #2We cannot save others if we have 'not prepared' to save them.
For myself I can barley afford to prepare for the 3 of us. Nor do I gave unlimited space for preparedness supplies for others even if I had more money.
I am lucky that I have a 45' x 75' piece of ground to grow food on...but in realty that is not much land for the 3 of us, so how could it be stretched even further? (I am lucky in the sense that when in L.A. I had much less land.)
It is a hard fact of life that the Survivor must be Selfish in order to SURVIVE.
Just be authentic with what you do and you can be at peace with whatever the outcome is.
For one to be Successful at Survival understand the importance of all the 'S' words and how one's Success at Survival balances on the interaction of all the 'S' words and by practical application of a Successful Survival philosophy.
And while we do need a modicum of Smarts to be a Successful Survivor...well, let me paraphrase the title of an old post I wrote so it is apropos here:
'Academic Smarts are not the Same as Survival Smarts.'
The realities of being a Successful Survivor are this.
To be Successful at Survival requires one to be Selfish as opposed to Selfless.
It is impossible to be a Saint and Save everyone in the world that has not done their preparedness footwork to Supply their emergency needs.
Just Sharing Some of your emergency Supplies with one other person may put your life in jeopardy.
So now there are two deaths as opposed to one.
But only you can judge how many lives your Supplies can maintain and your desires to be philanthropic can Support.
Don't ever let another person tell you otherwise. The one's doing the browbeating are usually the one's that have done little in the area of preparedness.
But the concept of Sharing goes beyond just Sharing Supplies. It also encompasses Sharing our time and our energies - for Survival can be a full time job just to keep ourselves and our loved one's alive.
We are all human and have limitations, so we can only Spread ourselves so thin before we Start to develop cracks in our health - whether it be mental health or physical health.
The Successful Survivor must accept that the Self must come first. And while it is unfortunate that the foundation of that Success is based in Selfishness and not in philanthropy...that is what the reality of it is.
If we lived in a perfect dream world, then we could wipe out all these unfortunate and unforeseen circumstances that would cause one to have to prepare for possible disasters, upheavals and emergencies.
But the cold hard facts are that the business of Survival is not always nice and pretty - but it is always rooted in putting the preservation of one's own life first.
This book gives goes into detail with this topic of 'Survival Philosophy'.
I highly recommended it...get it from your library
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Book-Survival-revolution...id=1196866051&sr=1-1Mental preparedness and physical fitness are the foundations of all our Survival quests For the mind guides the body, but an unfit body is not able to respond to the minds guidance.
We become mentally prepared when we are able to use the 7 Skills to defeat the 7 Enemies of Life
The 7 Skills:
Fire Starting
Water Procurement
Shelter Building
Foraging for food
Signaling
First Aid
Self Defense
7 Enemies of Life:
Fear and anxiety
Cold and Heat
Thirst
Hunger
Boredom and Loneliness
Fatigue
Pain and Injury
So in essence, we develop Self confidence by mastering the Skills needed to overcome any Situation that arises to threaten our life.
Let me delve into the concept of Selfish versus Selfless actions a little more. I don't wish to promote the wrong view that being Selfish is the key to being happy and at peace.
As the Taoists tell us...fleas come with the dog. And if one desires to be a Survivalist, then one must accept some fleas to come with the job.
Most humans have a natural desire to help those in need. It is part of their makeup. But we must accept that we have built our world on unsustainable means - a means built artificially on fossil fuel.
And when we live out of balance with natures intended means there is a price to pay to come back in balance with nature. And the price usually extracts pain from us in the adjustment process.
The world is in a death Spiral. It is just how we have built our world over the years. We can't blame any one person for this fact - we are all to blame. It would be one thing if we all reverted back to rural living, burning trees for fuel and housing and living within our comfortable means allotted to us by nature, as our ancestors did back in the day.
But seven billion people can't burn the trees!
It has been estimated that for the earth to Sustainably Support its population without fossil fuels a 90% dieoff must occur. I don't know if that figure is right, but I do know humans could not live as they do unless it was funded by artificial means via fossil fuels. Our life on earth has been 'pumped up' via steroids and growth hormones a.k.a. crude oil.
So if this dieoff happens, of course there will be great amounts of pain in the world. But it is natures intended balancing act. It also reminds us that nature does not bow to humans - it is humans that always bow to nature.
Will this dieoff occur? I don't know. Some genius may come to the rescue and find a way to burn water and we can keep consuming carefree. but there is still the question of petrochemical use. Irrespective of burning crude, petroleum is an irreplaceable component of many other products we consume.
http://www.ranken-energy.com/Products%20from%20Petroleum.htmAnimals live within their intended balance with nature and it is only man that destroys his environment and has to pay the price through pain and Suffering from working against nature.
This is why we humans need moral guidance or a moral conscience since they have a 'free will' of Sorts. If we did not have such a feature we would soon Self-destruct.
Actually it is like this.
We are free to do what we want -- but are not free to want what we want.
All our actions have consequences, and many of our actions produce consequences that end up destroying peace. (both ours and other's peace).
This is what separates us from the animals that run Solely on instinct.
Humans run by instinct as well as moral guidance. And what makes us a human is why we even have to discuss this question of helping others in the first place.
This question of Sustainability is the key to helping one make the tough decision as to whether to help another out with their provisions or energies.
If whatever you offer is available to you in unlimited amounts or amounts that would be hard to deplete, then one may not have to be so concerned with Sharing such bounty. (Although Sharing anything with desperate people also has the potential for Security problems irrespective of the question of Sustainability.)
But whatever way you decide to proceed...be authentic and you can be at peace with your actions.
The 'authenticity acid test' would ask the question; 'Would you do the same thing again knowing the outcome of your actions?'
If you would not do it again, then your actions are not authentic, since you are not at peace with the outcome.
Authenticity is the key to being at peace. For even if you or your loved ones must die early to gratify one's philanthropic desires, then one can be at peace with that outcome if one authentically puts philanthropy above personal Survival.
This all goes back to my quote on Thoreau and the subject of pride...where do we put our pride?
Do we put our pride in helping others first and ourselves and our family Second?
Or do we put our pride in Self preservation?
...In the end you only have to please yourself with your actions...just be authentic with what you do and you can be at peace with whatever the outcome is.
