The Campfire Trail: September 16 - DIY Homestead

September 16, 2022

Day 350 of the Adventure

Continuing from yesterday's posting, I've given more thought to the forces that seem to be pushing the economy in a downhill direction. If there's two things that SCREAM third world economy, it's scarcity of necessary supplies and inflation making what is available, unaffordable. In my lifetime of 61 years, I've never personally witnessed this kind of environment outside of gas rationing in the 70's. I remember those couple of events in '73 and '79 when both times, it came as a result of foreign countries choosing to cut supplies to the U.S. Now, it seems like much of the shortages have to do with our own policies and decisions. I'm not going to go all "political" here. I'm just saying that whether it has foreign or domestic roots, the results are becoming more obvious almost by the day.

With that said, I'm going to veer off in a direction you probably weren't expecting. I firmly believe we are facing a unique, surprise opportunity. Assuming we are willing to view it that way. While the country continues to tighten it's collective belts and be victimized by the economy, there will be some who will look upon the hardship as a sign to adopt a change direction for themselves. This notion just dawned on me this week. As I watch a certain segment of the population continue to prep in the face of what they see as impending doom, another segment seems to be truly enjoying the growing fruits of self-reliance. In many ways, I'm finding that to be true for us as well.

What triggered this thought was the picture I've used in this article. It's of a young lady who has created a huge store of canned, dried and frozen goods from her garden. Virtually all of it from this year's crop. The contented look on her face and the satisfied tone to her description of the season's harvest did not imply anything but a positive experience in Self-Reliance. Then it dawned on me. As I follow various YouTube channels of similar types of people, I'm actually seeing more and more of the Self Reliant "spirit" revealing itself during this difficult economy. The exciting part is that it generally seems to be coming from the younger generations. That may be simply because most of us......... "Senior" generation folk tend to avoid technology like the plague. My point is, there's an entire culture of self-sufficient pioneers and trail blazers rising to the surface in the face of economic woe's. What some are viewing as a hopeless spiral of decline is bringing others, I believe, to a crossroads of opportunity. This opportunity, if taken, is leading many into a very good life of Self-Sufficiency. It includes a greater independence from the high costs of energy, food and a measure of insulation from the effects of un-affordable housing. Seeing opportunity in the face of adversity is an option that requires vision and "forward-thinking". I dare say that most will be oblivious to the concept of opportunity during economic crisis. Others will feel a sense of victimhood and think there is no solution other than take the beating the economy is administering. The few who are brave enough to blaze a trail for themselves into the world of Self-Sufficiency will experience a completely different outlook within their circumstances. I believe as their skills and capabilities grow, they will enjoy the peace and satisfaction of knowing that outside economic forces will have to reach much further to touch them and will have much less of an effect if they do.

Carry On

Adventure Quote: It's not the critic who counts, not the man who points out where the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred with dust and sweat and blood.... At best he knows the triumph of high achievement. But if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place will never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat. ~ Theodore Roosevelt

Base Camp Coffee of the Day: B-52 (Kahlua/Irish Cream/Amaretto flavors)

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