Resilience is not for Everyone
I had mentioned before that I was stressing myself out about offending people with my content. Well, I concluded that building resilience is not for weak constitutions.
If someone is offended by someone to else’s words “, it’s then the future does not belong to them. If they are so fragile to be unable “have a conversation about fundamental life topics do you think they have any ability to handle a resilient life? I laugh writing that previous sentence because the very definition of resilience is to bounce back, to be flexible in life — which these people are incapable of doing.
Weak people will not make it — plain and simple. To be clear, by “not make it,” I mean die. They will fall to the wayside. On the other hand, the resilient will work their asses off trying to adapt as best they can to the various challenges reality presents. We come from an era where it has been effortless to exist. Even for many in poverty, there is a roof over their heads; they have a washer machine and dryer, and probably a phone. At least “the “homeless” on street corners in the city near here all have phones. Lucky them.
No, people who want to whine about being offended, upset about your viewpoints, and angry about facing reality can not adapt quickly enough to what is unfolding. Getting rid of the dead weight will free up the space so that resilient folks can get on with it. We have a job to do, and we are playing our parts.
Do you find it disingenuous for someone to talk about a subject and say that others should do it, but they are not doing it? I think so too. That is why I am secure in my viewpoints because my partner and I live this lifestyle. We know what it is like to work from sunrise to sunset, dig a well by hand, raise livestock, build tiny houses, hook up our solar electric system, install a wood stove, grow a massive diversity of edible plant species, learn how to graft, wash clothes by hand, make herbal medicine, compost our humanure, and so much more. We have had to deal with substantial loss and financial hardship multiple times entirely on our own, yet we keep at it. So yes, we have a reasonably good idea of what it takes to build resilience, we certainly have a lot more to learn, but I am proud of our hard work thus far.
You do not need hundreds of thousands of dollars to build resilience. In my opinion, you can start for free with the most critical category—mental resilience—by building your emotional intelligence. I highly recommend Natalie Lue at Baggage Reclaim. Natalie has changed my life for the better. If you want to truly love who you are and grow into the amazing person you were meant to be, please check out her podcasts!
We built our tiny house by hand for under $12,000 on land bought for $35,000. We also have a bi-weekly grocery budget of $150, so we live frugally as best as possible. I want to dive deeper into our budgeting in a future post, so stay tuned. Sometimes the food is not the healthiest, but we have full bellies!
I think it’s a waste of time to paint broad strokes in building resilience so that everyone feels inclIt’s. It’s a lot like trying to people please everybody. There is always a Karen that will pick you apart and complain. So stick to what you know and what it takes to reach your target audience — the doers. In my Treaties to The Christian Church, we saw that more people want to call themselves Christians until there is actual Christian shit to do. The same thing is in the preparedness/homesteading/building resilience community. To actually step up and “crash now and avoid the rush,” as John Michael Greer puts it, is too hard for most.
I love the YouTube channels with millions of views of people building a little hut in the dead of winter in some forest surrounded by their camping gear. How many viewers fantasize about being a “tough survivalist” or “prepper” but have never spent the night outside since childhood? Sure it’s “manly” to go out, build a fort, and survive for 10 hours, but then these adults go right back home, take a hot shower, and watch TV. They are actors playing a part. Insert eye rolls.
Or take a neighbor of mine as another example. During the east coast pipeline “hacking” attack that shut down gas supplies for a few days, this guy went out and bought two guns for $3000. He didn’t go out and buy gas to have on hand or maybe some extra food. Nope, he purchased guns y’all! So to all these billy badasses out there, I have to ask. How many times have you had to shoot someone this week to live? Unless you live in Baltimore or Chicago, your answer is none. Okay, so how often have you had to eat and drink? A lot, right? These people are living in a fantasy world. Insert additional eye rolls.
Real honest to God resilience takes a tremendous amount of dedication, skills, mental, physical, and spiritual fortitude to make it work. You have to live with purpose and a hell of a lot of intelligence. Do you think it’s easy to know when to hand pollinate a lettuce plant, when to harvest, and then save seeds correctly? Something as simple as seed saving takes quite a bit of knowledge.
I admire Mr. Kunstler for telling it like it is. He is a tremendous influence on my life. I value his no-nonsense approach to the problems and predicaments facing us. His “no bullshit policy” encourages me to be frank about building personal resilience. There is no need to pussy-foot around on this subject. Wringing my hands about someone’s feelings is such a waste of time. I have so much to do that those fragile people can take a running leap into history’s dumpster. If you want to get honest with the realities crashing in on us — it’s time to man/woman up to walk away and build resilience.
I enjoyed writing this post as I’m not beating around the bush on a topic that I live out every single day. Hard times make strong men and women. For those ready to make a life worth living, let’s get going!