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DO WHAT MAKES YOU FEEL RIGHT

The British Petroleum oil well drilling catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico could turn out to be for the good. That possibility depends on several giant IFs. IF the enormity of our continued reliance on oil for our energy needs sinks into the collective consciousness and causes many of us to make serious changes, and IF the oil industry finds that there is diminishing profit and increasing liability in drilling deep-water oil wells, and IF the members of the DC Whorehouse and their corporate customers understand that the present course is a calamity, then through seeing the horrendous environmental, economic and social damage we may find the will to do the right thing.

Which in this case is reducing our reliance on oil and increasing our use of renewable resources.

What will that require from each of us? Well, how about pledging to drive twenty fewer miles each month for the rest of this year? And then how about raising the number next year and in each subsequent year? How about making a survey of all our energy usage and pledging to reduce that usage by, say, ten percent the rest of this year, and more next year? How about replacing just one night of television each week with reading and discussing these issues with family?

In the end, as with recycling, bicycling, turning down the thermostat in the winter and up in the summer, our actions will be predicated on what makes us feel right. If we don’t take the energy issue seriously on a personal level, if we don’t do these things because if makes us feel right about ourselves, then energy improvement won’t happen and we will end our lives with our grandchildren dealing with the issues that we blamed on others and to which we paid only lip service.

Whether the issue is voting, recycling, bicycling or learning how to do more with less, we must do what feels right, what makes us feel good about ourselves. If we reach deep we can find that contentment.

It starts with us, that unblinking, noble person in the mirror. Individually. If we wait until everybody is doing the right things we will die with those things undone.

This is our time.

I suggest that you consider not buying property insurance. No, not possible if
you need a mortgage. If that is the case, do whatever you can to
become mortgage free as soon as possible, including alternatives such
as loans from family and friends. As you build and make improvements,
do so with safety as your first criterion.

We don’t have health insurance; instead, we use that money to buy and
feed ourselves only the very highest-quality foods we can find. We eat
very well. As we get lots of exercise and plenty of sleep we are very healthy. We don’t have building insurance; instead, we put safety
first when building and maintaining our buildings. We have very low
overhead. Our only insurance is auto insurance and we buy that to
protect others from our potential mistakes, even though neither of us
has ever caused an accident.

People have been persuaded into thinking they need insurance by
companies designed to profit from fears. If we conduct ourselves
responsibly we can save that profit for ourselves and use the savings
to improve the quality of our lives.

It’s a choice.

I lived in Japan for two and a half years courtesy of the United States Army. I sampled as many aspects of Japanese life as was possible for a 19-21-year-old American male. The culture at that time was some different than what I read about today, especially in the cities. When I was there, there were more bicycles and kimonos, fewer cars and less Western dress. But certain cultural traditions persist. I am, 52 years later, still carrying with me those memories and impressions. Most of them are positive.

The connections and similarities between Japanese culture and Little House mindset are several and others here will hopefully think of those that I miss.

Japanese customs derive in large part from the conditions of a substantial population living in a limited space with limited natural resources. Extrapolate that to current Earth conditions and one easily sees similarities, connections, challenges and solutions.

The overt wide-spread personal courtesy is necessary for social order in such conditions. So is personal cleanliness. So is seeking serenity through personal mind efforts rather than material accumulation. So is using minimal fuel for lighting, heating and cooking.

And so is building and living in a Little House.

AN IDEAL HOMESTEAD DOG: Benny: 4/30/96-7/30/09
Benny is now in the ground, next to his buddy, Dax, up under the dogwood trees by the old log barn. He was an ideal homestead dog, from parents who were working dogs on a ranch of cattle and sheep. We never allowed him to fulfill his potential as we do not raise large livestock. He did keep an eye on the chickens, though, as well as us and the garden and the full clearing. In all ways he performed as a competent and trusted homestead worker.
We were directed to find him in a barn; his mother had chosen a horse stall and he was infested with ticks and fleas and filthy with manure. He was the runt of his litter but we selected him because of his energy and his promise of great beauty. A classic blue merle Australian Shepherd, with one blue and one brown eye, he fulfilled his promise as a joy to the eye.
He required little training. Beyond normal obedience instruction about all he got was observation of his master walking and peeing along the perimeter of the homestead clearing, denoting the area to protect.
He never took a sick day in his thirteen years and three months. What finally brought him down were hips that could only with great effort get him up to a standing position.
He pleased us in myriad ways. It was a special delight upon retuning from town trips to see the blue merle of happiness bouncing out to greet us.
And the beat goes on.

Three and a half months ago, Mother suffered a stroke. Since then my life has been steered by attending to her needs. Doctors, nurses, therapists and now home care. And the complexities of her finances as well as mine, and dealing with medical bills that stagger the mind, like a one-hour medical airlift for which she received a bill of $31,000.
Chris retired early so we could bring Mother to Heartwood. So here we are, finally where we want to be, and fighting to find time to do what we want to do.
These last several months have been a life lesson. Expect the unexpected. Keep your affairs in order. Execute a medical power of attorney to whomever you most trust. Get that someone also on your checking account. Deed your house to your children. And figure out how you will end your days. To see what lack of planning provides, visit a care facility and look at the living bodies there.
Be prepared.

Morning muse: nothing is certain for long. Darwin and Einstein are routinely picked apart. There is even a persistent rumor that God is dead. Indeed, the Greek gods have been out of favor for millennia. So what are we left with? Opinion. You have one, I have one, all our friends have one. That’s what we’re operating on: opinions.

Be on guard against what theologian Reinhold Niebuhr called the non-thought of received ideas. Everyone wants you to think their thoughts and many are trained to be highly persuasive. So be alert and very selective.

We can control our thoughts. But we are steered by news, conversations, TV shows, songs, and slogans. All these things do what ads are designed to do—steer our thinking. Never forget: being a reporter or a columnist for a major newspaper does not cause anyone to know what is best for you.

Those who write what is called the news must grab our attention or they don’t get a paycheck. So “if it bleeds it leads” has become the dictum. If there is no local mayhem the search for bad news goes afield, no matter how far is required.

This is not to say that we should ignore all negative news. The trick is to stay informed on matters that affect our lives, but to not become mired in bad news that does not directly affect us. A focus on prevalent bad news leads to crippling anxieties.

We can choose to see bad news or good news, negative stuff or positive stuff. So choose carefully what you let into your brain. Positive or negative, it’s a choice.

What will make your life better?

No, not in the Chinese curse sense. I feel highly positive about our present time. We are learning vastly faster than in the recent past. This is partly the result of much faster communication and knowledge availability due to the Internet. And now the speed of learning is prodded by dire economic conditions. Challenge and change provide opportunity. Fear prods plans. Is this a win-win situation or what? Go for it.

The Economist reports that during the three decades between 1974 and 2005 real food prices declined by 75 percent. In the three years since 2005, however, they have risen by 75 percent and the price hikes affect nearly every food commodity.

At least as important as prices is availability. Food has usually been over-abundant in America as well as throughout the world. That’s why we have an overpopulation condition. That abundance can quickly change to shortages. Current economic conditions will affect energy costs for running farm machinery and delivery systems. Credit money is drying up. Investors are going abroad.

Beyond prices and availability, there is an even more important reason to grow as much of one’s food as possible: quality. Agribusiness is first a business. Agribusiness owners care far less about nutrition and health than they do about profit. Prices will go up but quality will continue to go down.

Get started now on the path to food independence. Take that first small but important step: buy some seeds and plant them. Expect failures; gardening is an ongoing curriculum. Even if you live in a tiny walk-up in the city, you can grow plants in containers. Even easier, grow sprouts at your windowsill.

Do you have a front or back yard? Those are garden spots. Most cities now have community gardens. Find the one nearest you and go check it out. The important thing is to start doing it. So long as your food supply is dependent on others your health is vulnerable. Take charge. Start gardening today.