Practical solutions for people + planet
How do you deal with fear?
When I recently asked an acquaintance who's a CPA how he's preparing for a recession, he replied, "Chickens, guns and ammo." I laughed. But he was serious.
I understand the chickens, but guns and ammo? That brought home to me what a fear-saturated culture we've become.
To be sure, there's plenty of cause for fear, but I think most of the crises we're facing are interconnected and therefore affect us all sooner or later. What scared me most was the CPA's "I'm defending what's mine" approach.
Then I remembered a bumpersticker a friend gave me years ago: "Encourage your hopes, not your fears." It seems a little corny, but it's what I'm trying to do.
What are your fears for the future and how are you dealing with them?
I understand the chickens, but guns and ammo? That brought home to me what a fear-saturated culture we've become.
To be sure, there's plenty of cause for fear, but I think most of the crises we're facing are interconnected and therefore affect us all sooner or later. What scared me most was the CPA's "I'm defending what's mine" approach.
Then I remembered a bumpersticker a friend gave me years ago: "Encourage your hopes, not your fears." It seems a little corny, but it's what I'm trying to do.
What are your fears for the future and how are you dealing with them?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Susie-Q on -
Reading the paper today and hearing that analysts believe most people will spend their tax rebate on groceries, gas and debt reduction, I pondered whether the recession was truly severe or if this was media playing up drama.
At any rate, I have plenty to fear in challenging economic times. I'm freshly single, trying to unload an expensive house in a down market, have a child and work for a non-profit. I'm learning to shop locally at the co-op and farmer's market, freecycle, take the bus or a bike, grow a vegetable garden and repair and reuse things around the house where I used to be quick to discard and buy again.
I'm not only getting to have fun by returning to sewing and learning a few new crafts, I'm supporting my community. I believe we will rise from this economic challenge by supporting each other in our local communities.
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Permalink Reply by Kim Ridley on -
Right on! I think so much of "homeland security" lives in the practice of community.
Thanks for the link to the freecycle site--I'm checking out groups here in Maine.
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Permalink Reply by Chantal on -
Throwing away my TV helps ease the fear factor. I also try to find statistics to support or dispel a particular fear. For data, I particularly love swivel.com.
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Permalink Reply by Afriendof B on
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Permalink Reply by Kim Ridley on
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Thanks for your insightful piece--it's terrific. Wonderful blog too! I look forward to hearing how the season unfolds on your farm.
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Permalink Reply by Beth on -
I just got 8 baby chickens! and I'm starting a local group to meet about permaculture and promoting local fresh food.
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Permalink Reply by Chantal on
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Congrats on your chickens, Beth! What variety are they and where are you keeping them?
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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Thanks! They are 4 Rhode Island Reds and 4 Auracanas. They are currently living in a large box in my bathtub! With luck, their new home, a big bird cage just outside my house, will be ready by the end of the day. They are too small to turn loose just yet to scratch around the yard as there are many predators in the local woods. I got them at a Baldwin County, Alabama feed and farm supply store when I took my granddaughter to pick strawberries at a farm and meet the cows that give the milk that the cheese is made from at another farm a couple of weeks ago. I had to ask and still searching locally, but I got a starter feed for the chickens with no hormones or antibiotic medication.
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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Great! after hiding in a little box for 2 days they are now happy in their big cage. They don't need extra heat anymore and almost all of there baby chick feathers are gone. When they get a little bigger, I can let them run around the yard. (And one breed of the chickens is actually called Amerauracana, I called them Auracana. Both names may be acceptable, don't know for sure. But they are the ones that lay pretty pastel green and pink eggs. I can hardly wait!)
Today I found a local organic vege farmer with gardens only about 5 miles away. He has a wholesale member only buying club set up where you can go every Saturday morning, place your order from a price sheet for a weeks worth of fresh veges and he then goes out in the fields to pick it. In the deep south here he grows his gardens year around. He also special orders fresh free range eggs and sprouts. I'm excited!
Next I'd like to find someone with a cow for fresh local raw milk!
Thank you for asking.
And making progress working on my local permaculture group to enlighten and bring together others about fresh local food. My local farmer I found is a result of that effort!
All these things I am doing help me deal with fear. I have a quote for you all,
"We generate fears while we sit;
we overcome them by action.
Fear is nature's warning signal to get busy."
I've found this to work for me.
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Permalink Reply by TC on -
It's kind of funny - over the new year weekend I feel into the well housing (I live pretty rurally in Northern New Mexico) and broke the main pipes coming into the house from the well. It was 4 pm on Friday, Dec 28th. I was OK - but I had no water. What to do? One of my 'neighbors' (within 5 miles of my home) had a friend who was a plumber. He gave his friend the plumber a call and that weekend - on the 29th and 30th of Dec. - I had new pipes from the well. The cost? A case of beer. It was then that I got the importance of community. I had always known about it in an abstract esoteric way - but I really GOT it that weekend. Whether you know the person directly or is just another connection along the chain - the spirit of community is the most essential aspect to survival. I am building a greenhouse with the intention of being able to help out those in the chain if the time comes. I hope it doesn't. But I know that I have a strong community here. Even if I haven't met everyone yet. Mine may be the only house without a gun, but I don't need one. I know there is a level of community support 'out here' far greater than what I experienced when I lived in town. And it is a bizarrely comforting feeling.
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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I like the way you tell your story and the importance of community. All my adult life I have sought finding a place in the wilderness to be more isolated from the rat race and everyone (I considered remote Alaska). Recent years have somewhat forced me to see the error of that path and the realization that human beings must have community, live amongst one another and work together for mutual survival and benefit. A friend and I were recently discussing the need to just be around other people in a group on a regular basis and how long periods of isolation lead to depression. I've also recognized the need for regular contact with nature, the earth and our natural environment, such as living in it more.
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