Ride the Slide!

Murph's got a fire going in the greenhouse while working on the hides.

Freeacre

Thanksgiving week - and I know we've all got things to do and people to see. Our heart is with Montana Freeman, especially, as we all hold his daughter in our collective embrace as she heals from a car accident.

Rather than list the many aspects of our collective lives that are deteriorating or the obvious threats to our well-being, let's take a look at what we can do to make things better. Bear with me as I repeat myself because we have a lot of newer readers who may not know what we've been doing for years. We are getting over 2,000 hits a month now, so there are many new people in the shadows around our cyber campfire.

We have been criticized for not supporting public protests against the resource wars or other reprehensible policies and behaviors. That's not exactly the case. We are very active in a local, grassroots citizen action group that has been very successful in changing policies and personnel at the city and county level. It's been a dog fight and we're still at it. We have replaced 2 of 3 county commissioners, the mayor and one city counselor, got one of our own on the DEQ Steering Committee, and several of our group on the County Planning Commission. We have spent three years organizing, standing outside grocery stores collecting signatures on petitions, raising money for class action lawsuits, submitting testimony at commission hearings, and attending meetings of many kinds. We're active in the Grange, support the area's youth, and have organized a Farmer's Market. I would not say that we are just whining about things and sitting on our hands. Oh, yeah, we also grow our own food, raise chickens and rabbits, and have stored up about a years worth of food and supplies. Our house is paid for, we are out of debt, we bank at a community bank, and we don't fly. We also have created this Campfire to support those who “get it” that we are on the brink of the end of the world as we know it. And we do it on a combined income of $24,000 a year from social security (plus some savings for back-up)

We understand and sympathize with those who get annoyed with writers who bemoan how screwed up everything is but do not walk the walk to make things any better.

What we do not do is stand outside of Walmart with a sign saying “Don't Shop Here” or run cross country “to find a cure for cancer” or picket against the One World Order. Hey, I'd love to be standing at the base of a skyscraper on Wall St. with a sign saying, “JUMP!” I'd do that in a heartbeat if I lived in New York. But, I live in Central Oregon in a town that just got it's first stoplight and where there isn't even one two story commercial building. So, if you think you can do something else that will work, by all means do so. We all need to do whatever is appropriate to our individual circumstances. And, yes, we all definitely need to do more than piss and moan about things and take no action.

I've been participating in that exercise to imagine a better world emerging from all this deterioration and chaos that is outlined on the Reality Transmission site (http://www.wix.com/realitytransmission/11-11-transmission/page-1). I'm not doing it perfectly, as I am not disciplined enough to do anything at the same time every day. But, I have been thinking as well as meditating on what kind of reality I would like to see manifest and how to get there. If that's too “New Age” for ya, so be it, I guess. You gotta go with what works for you. This works for me.

I've come to terms with the idea that “some things are worth believing in whether they are true or not” (a quote from the movie, “Secondhand Lions”). Things like liberty, honor, compassion, courage, love, and honesty. Science is discovering more and more that objective reality is an illusion anyway. The observer seems to affect, or even create, what is observed.

So, what concrete endeavors do I suggest that we do to create a better world once the shit hits the fan (as it is already doing) and a new paradigm needs to be created? I envision a world where the people feel a strong harmonious connection to each other and to the planet. Something like the Na'vi people in “Avatar.” To that end, we stay in touch through the internet, through community meetings and organizations, etc.

Work to localize food production. Grow your own food and support local farms and gardens, farmer's markets, etc. Learn about fish farming or hydroponics, building brick ovens, making cheese – anything to help feed your neighbors and yourselves.

Stop Feeding the Beast. Identify the malefactors (the Central Banks, Wall St., and the Military/Industrial complex), and shun them as much as possible. Don't purchase goods made by slave labor. Shop at second hand stores and flea markets. Learn to make things like soap, laundry detergent, herbal medicines, toothpaste, candles, clothing, etc.

Demonetize as much as you can. That does not mean “caste out demons.” although maybe that would be good, too. .. It means pay off your credit cards so you are not paying interest. Do not invest in 401K's. (Personally, I'd buy physical silver or barter items instead). Barter and trade and gift each other. Be generous and compassionate with your money, your time, and your stuff. When somebody shows up in your life who needs help, then help them. If you have space to allow a person to camp out in your yard or a room to rent or crash in, then make it available. We would not have a homeless problem if people would share their housing.

Be a resource for your neighborhood or community. Build a personal library of resource books, tools, documentaries to teach coping skills. Teach by example. When people see you walking the walk, they will be inspired without you having to convince them. Then, all you have to do is answer their questions.

What else? Stop eating processed food, corn syrup, commercial beef and pork from food lots and poultry concentration camps. Stop using fluoridated toothpaste and drinking or eating contaminated or adulterated crap. Prepare sit down dinners for your family. Teach your kids how to grow and cook healthy food. Invite your neighbors over for dinner, or bring them homemade bread or muffins once in awhile. You might want to organize a neighborhood self-defense group. Learn to shoot and re-load. (I know, this is not for everybody.) If it's not for you, figure out what you are willing to use to defend yourself and your neighbor – even if it is just a baseball bat or some wasp spray (shoots 27 feet and is debilitating). If you are not willing to do anything, then it would be poor form to ask anyone to help you if push comes to shove.

We began reading the tea leaves concerning the potential mortgage meltdown and resource depletion back in 2002. We began doing what we figured we needed to do. But, the tea leaves keep changing. Younger people and those with children need to look at what is happening and make their own plans. If I were younger, I'd be real careful not to get into debt servitude with student loans training for professions that are not going to be there when you graduate. I'd be looking for apprenticeships and trade programs in skills that will be needed in the future, such as manufacturing useful items, or re-fitting homes to make them more energy efficient. If I were wanting to invent energy or new building materials, I'd be learning another language in case I need to leave the country in order to secure financial backing. I don't want to go all Bruce Springsteen on you, but, let's face it – America has been red-lined. The jobs aren't coming back and neither is the financing. I'd be traveling to South America, China, India, Vietnam and Singapore. Learning to teach English as a second language to people in those countries as a start. I'd be studying permaculture, re-cycling, cluster septic systems, geo-thermal, alternative medicine. If you don't, you may find yourself enlisted in some goon squad to secure a meal and a roof over your head. People with children are going to need to team up to buy land collectively, or homestead. It isn't going to be about carting them around to soccer practice and keeping in touch with cell phones when gas goes to $5 or more a gallon and the electrical grid is unreliable. Kids are going to get their exercise tending the garden and the animals and playing hacki sack. Eventually they will still be able to become builders and astronomers, scientists, healers, and artists. But, it will be different. Hopefully better. With any luck, there will be no more MBA's.

Thinking about immanent war, false flag events, financial melt-down, die off, weather wars, earth and sun changes, et al, can be frightening stuff. But, it's also exciting to think of the possibilities for transformation. It's empowering to change the fear into resolve, once one takes steps to prepare. To cope with all the weirdness and pathos, it helps to have faith that we were born into this incarnation for a purpose.

“Ride the Slide!” (as Lucretia counsels) and make a better world.

I am certain you have your thoughts on this, so, as always, we want to hear them.

A venison flank gifted from a neighbor - stuffed with quinoa, craisins, bacon, onion, sage & thyme