The following question was posted as a comment to article of mine last month. The article that I had written outlined a number of current event issues that had come up that are very disturbing and that little can be done by the average person to affect them. So the person posting a comment asked “What can I do?”…mostly out of frustration I think.

The question that was asked shows amazing fortitude and desire to make a difference. Another way to ask that question could be “How do I prepare for what is happening and what is coming?” I am sure there are other versions of that same question but the bottom line is the same.

The answer is “preparedness”…or…to be prepared. To ensure we are on the same page, here are some well-established everyday definitions:

• Preparedness = The state of having been made ready.
• Prepared = Made fit or suitable; adapted; ready; willing.
• Prepare = To make ready beforehand for a specific purpose, as for an event or occasion. To equip yourself.

I found it really interesting how these words all fit together in intention and action. Then it occurred to me to look at another term… self-reliant.

Self-reliant means to be reliant upon one’s self; trusting to one’s own powers or judgment. And to be free from external control and constraint in action and judgment.

As I was pondering this whole concept I put it together like this…

Self-reliant is the end-state, the goal. To get to that point (the end-state or goal), you have to prepare (the action)…thus you are not just prepared, you are self-reliant.

Can you actually be self-reliant in this day and age…or self-reliant in any and all scenarios such as TEOTWAWKI? I don’t think so…too many moving parts and no one person can be sufficiently proficient in all aspects of preparedness. Example: You might be really good at food storage but you might not be a combat medic ready to treat gunshot wounds. In my opinion, being self-reliant in all things is not realistic.

However, I do believe that it is possible to be relatively free from external control and constraint in action and judgment when it comes to who you are and what you believe in…when things get rough. I also believe that the more you are prepared the more self-reliant you can be. Then add to that a trusted circle of people who have additional and complimentary skills.

Why is this exercise in terminology needed? Because you have to have realistic expectations of what you can and can’t accomplish. If it’s not realistic…then you will always be in a state of “fail”. What you want is to be suitably ready, willing, and adaptable to deal with the events that are occurring/coming, while being free external controls and constraints…to the best of your ability. To me that is the essence of preparedness.

If you wanted an instant answer with me telling you what to do, the list could include things such as:

• Call an elderly couple and ask them if you could do their shopping for them.
• Take some diapers over to a single mom’s home.
• Give a couple of rolls of toilet paper to the largest family you know.
• Take a meal to an elderly woman’s home.
• Call your friends and ask them how they are doing and if they need anything.
• Take a big container of soup to your neighbor’s house for dinner.
• Get on Skype and read books to your grandchildren.
• Ask your church’s congregation leadership if a family could use your help.
• Identify some older couple in your neighborhood and call them each day to see how they are doing.
• Take a gallon of milk to a needy family with kids.
• Bake a loaf of bread for your Pastor/Minister/Bishop.
• Post positive stories and messages on your social media account.
• Text friends telling them you are thinking of them and hope things are going well with them.
• If you are shopping take only what you need, and don’t take the last item…look around for someone who needs it more…especially if they are elderly…take it over to them and offer it to them.
• If you are shopping and you see an elderly person shopping by themselves…help them…or at least make eye contact and smile at them.
• Start a Neighborhood Watch program.
• Get out of the mainstream economy the most you can; buy at farmer’s markets, buy at garage sales, buy meat direct from a cattle rancher, barter some of your excess garden vegetables with your neighbors. Trade your skills for other folks’ skills.
• Don’t buy into the FBI propaganda and public relations; see them for who they are.
• Don’t believe a single thing the DOJ says.
• Don’t let law enforcement on you property, especially in your house, without a warrant.
• Never talk with a federal agent without a lawyer present.
• Stay away from 90% of all mainstream media outlets.
• Garden, can, dehydrate, ferment, and freeze as much of your own fruit and produce as possible.
• Learn about and understand the ATF is the most unconstitutional federal law enforcement agency ever created. It exists specifically and solely to destroy the 2nd Amendment and imprison US citizens.
• If you belong to a political party…leave it.
• Develop strong principles, morals, and ethics…don’t compromise them.
• If you belong to a church that supports abortion…leave it and find a Christ-centered church to join.
• If you have children in public schools…try your best to homeschool…or at least provide education to your children that counters the anti-American, pro-Socialist/Communist crap they learn in public schools.
• Learn and teach history.
• Figure out how to make a great living without going to college. Professions such as electricians, plumbers, builders, mechanics, computer programmers and technicians, and a wide range of other occupations that pay as good or better than college educated jobs…and without the 10’s of thousands of $’s of debt that college requires.
• Become as independent of the government, utilities, media, school systems, and the economy as possible.
• Work outside of the conventional economy. Buy direct from farmers, ranchers, and farmers markets; buy from thrift stores, flea markets, and swap meets. Go to garage sales and estate sales; buy from online classifieds. Give your unneeded stuff away…or barter them for things you wan/need.

All of the above could make a difference in life…for you and others. But, you know, I really don’t want to just tell you things to do because they would be my ideas, not personal/applicable to you. Additionally, you also would just be doing stuff and not figuring out what was behind it all…the ‘why’ you were doing it. And honestly, the list may not include a single thing for you; you have to figure out what is right for you to do.

I would much rather share some insight in preparing and let you run with it…you figure out your own list.

Preparedness has two major components; 1) the principles, 2) the practical. Preparedness also is by far more a state of mind than anything tangible. Most people live their lives simply going through the daily motions of eat, sleep, work, a little socializing, barely some quality time with the family…repeat. Few folks ever really put much thought into the “what if” side of life…probably for along list of reasons. Mostly, I believe that people feel that disasters happen to others and ‘grid-down’ stuff only shows up in novels and movies. Add on top of that, preparing takes time and money…something most people feel they already don’t have enough of. It takes a particular, a special, mindset to be successful at prepping long-term.

Have you already had a change of your mindset, your thinking, your view of the world? If not, are you willing to see things differently, unconventionally, non-conforming?

Generally speaking the “principles” part are the intangibles, the “why’s” and the underlying reasons behind what you will be doing as a prepper. This principles area is a little more ambiguous in nature and due to it being so broad of a subject it will need a bit more explanation. The “practical” part is fairly easy…it is what you will do to be prepared. The “principles” part is who you are, or who you will become, to be prepared.

Which element is more important, principles or the practical?

Dang, tough question to answer…kinda like a “chicken or the egg” kinda question. They both are very important and one can’t be very successful without the other. But, I feel the “principles” component is the highest priority. Why? Because it will probably take more thinking, more introspection, and potentially tougher actions/changes.

Principles –

What exactly am I referring to when I talk about principles? Over the last several years my attitude and view of principles have changed. My view used to be strictly along the lines of principles only as applying to the practical side of preparedness. Topics such as Situational Awareness, classification of events to be prepared for, risk mitigation, etc. And I wasn’t wrong. But, as time went on I realized there was a whole other side to the principles concept.

Let me share a couple of quotes for you to ponder…

“A man who has nothing he is willing to die for has nothing worth living for.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

“If you’re not ready to die for it, put the word ‘freedom’ out of your vocabulary.” – Malcom X

“In the great scheme of things, what matters is not how long you live but why you live, what you stand for and what you are willing to die for.” – Paul Watson

“If you’re not at least willing to die for something -something that really matters- in the end, you die for nothing.” – Andrew Klavan

And then there is…

“Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” – Patrick Henry, 1775

A little less dramatic would be a quote normally attributed to Alexander Hamilton –

“If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.”

The point I am trying to make is this…Who are you really and what do you truly believe in? Followed up with…Are you willing to die for those things you believe in? Isn’t that the real test of commitment in something? Are you willing to lay down your life for something you believe in?

Tomorrow I will get a little further into those questions with actual examples, more information, and a challenge for you.

 

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Articles in this Series –

• ASKED OF ME: What can I do?
• What can I do? (Principles)
  
• What can I do? (Laying the Foundation)
  
• What can I do? (Practical)
  
• What can I do? (Critically Important)
  
• What can I do? (Non-Conventional Prepping)
  
• What can I do? (Personal Note & Summary)
  

 

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