Why are you here?

I've been getting a lot of traffic from various blogs that I read and make comments on (including SHTFblog), so I thought I would take a second to re-iterate what kind of life we're trying to lead in this New Plan that we've established (and continue to modify). Our choice to abandon The System As We Formerly Knew It was based on several wishes. We chose to come back to my hometown because we wanted to live (in no particular order):

• somewhere our dogs can be happy
• somewhere we can build a house, a tiny house (under 200 sq ft, with recycled/salvaged materials, a composting toilet, and solar heat)
• somewhere we can grow our own food
• somewhere we can appreciate our friends and family
• Somewhere we can enjoy nature
• Somewhere we can reduce our costs enough so that we only have to work part-time

I've also been getting increasingly worried about the economic situation we are facing and increasingly frustrated that the mainstream media refuses to acknowledge what people can do to survive in the near future. I try not to consume much from the mainstream media because it's so depressing. Instead of disseminating information on how to make do with less, we are constantly bombarded with the messages of "Buy More!" and "Go about your business--everything's fine!" Only more and more people are catching on that No, everything is NOT fine. It's so distressing to me that so many people are not prepared to do without certain things, or have no knowledge of basic survival. I include myself in this category. Living a relatively cush life has made me weaker. But I am trying to change that.

These days I have a hard time balancing between being a really novice Buddhist (everything is impermanent, practice compassion for humanity) and a freakout survivalist (stock up on MREs and curl up in the basement with guns and ammo). These are two paths that can not be reconciled. So every day I make an effort to find The Middle Path.

When I was picking raspberries last night with my mom, I was trying to be grateful for the food that was there just waiting to be gathered, the opportunity to spend time with the people I love and care about, the opportunity to spend time in a place that is safe and clean...

But the other part of my brain works in a way that tells me instead of offering to let people come and glean the remaining raspberries this season, we should be selling them and saving the money in case shit goes down.

My heart tells me I need to err on the side of compassion. After all, I truly believe that cultivating alliances is more productive than putting up walls. I know that I have a lot to learn from other people and that by making small gestures such as sharing food with people who have less, I can learn more about myself and, hopefully, learn from those I help. And, really, would $10 or $20 or $30 really be that much of an advantage for me?

Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries.
Without them humanity cannot survive.
~Dalai Lama

The past week or so I have been trying to outline a plan to establish a bartering network. I think that we will need this in the near future and it will be easier to establish if people are in a more comfortable psychological space than if we're all struggling to survive (which we are every day, but, you know...).

Instead of paying over $3/dozen for eggs because I refuse to buy battery-hen eggs, I would be grateful to buy eggs that come from someone local--someone that has a chicken coop and actually cares about the quality of the chickens' lives. Sites like localharvest are a good start, but not everyone with products to sell has internet access. If you know of/have belonged to/are interested in joining a local bartering network, I would love to hear your ideas. I'm going to put up a flyer at various bulletin boards around town and I'll put an ad in the paper, but I want to have some idea of where to go and how to get there... My mom and dad predict that there will be more interest than I am anticipating. Which is fine by me! I hope that's the case. The more people that want to participate, the greater likelihood of success.

So my point is this: instead of being divisive and political and combative, we should all strive to remember each other as human beings who can accomplish great things with cooperation, compassion, and love. We're going to need each other if we're going to survive.

As long as we live in this world we are bound
to encounter problems.
If, at such times, we lose hope
and become discouraged,
we diminish our ability to face difficulties.
If, on the other hand,
we remember that it is not just ourselves
but every one who has to undergo suffering,
this more realistic perspective
will increase our determination
and capacity to overcome troubles.
Indeed, with this attitude, each new obstacle
can be seen as yet another valuable
opportunity to improve our mind!
~Dalai Lama