SuburbanResilience

I am having difficulty defining what is most important to me and why, as it seems there are several things that all overlap, or more precisely, intertwine. I think the underlying theme of it all is that I don’t want to be at the mercy of others. Specifically the corporations. I don’t want to be a victim. I don’t want to be helpless if we survive a natural disaster (tornado or power outage), and I want the liberty to make my own decisions, and to spend my time the way I see as most beneficial.

I can’t seem break free because my current cost of living is just too high, and I can’t seem to pursue a remedy to that because the demands on my time are just too many. Toil and slavery are the two words that come to mind. Nonetheless I am determined. Since all I can manage right now are baby steps, that is what I will take.

For instance, I can commit to 15 minutes to exercise in day, I may be able to do more on some days, but I can’t commit to that so 15 minutes is my goal. However I make it the most effective 15 minutes I can, so I do 15 minutes of HIIT two or three days a week. I supplement that by taking the stairs, parking farther away, etc.

So how does exercise fit in with Liberty and Resilience? My health is paramount. It is the one thing that will stay with me regardless of my circumstances. I must be in good health to stay out of the sick care system as much as possible, reduce the need for meds, enable my body to do the work it needs to do to support my lifestyle choices, and to not be burden on my family in the future.

So Here is my Road to Liberty and Resilience Action Journal:

• Tabata workout – Heart rate max=162; recovery heart rate=126
• Re-filed taxes. Actually getting a return this year and it should be enough to pay off another credit card. That’s right, no frivolous spending; there’ll be time for that once I am free.
• Spent about 30 minutes making some of the statements on my resume and linked in profile stronger

Please know (as I do) that in the event of major and instant disasters, this blog will not be a very good resource. I’m talking about a major EMP or nuclear type attack. I will be accessing other blogs and resources for my information then. I merely want to achieve liberty, and have no real expertise in catastrophic meltdowns. I can fish and forage, and would have no problem shooting someone to protect my family, and I have scoured the internet for things like what to include in a good first aid kit, but most of my advice isn’t going to help if you are looking for how to survive a total SHTF scenario.

This blog has two primary purposes which are highly intertwined: to be prepared for the highest probability scenarios on the Threat Probability Matrix, and to live the life of liberty that our Founding Fathers so vehemently believed in. I think if you accomplish one you will have accomplished the other as well. I need to be able to live my life on my terms. I no longer want to be a debt serf, and I don’t want to be dependent upon the government to fix things if a crisis should occur. But accomplishing those goals requires time and money – two resources of which I am in short supply. I have debt, I work a lot of hours so I have very little free time, and I barely make enough money to provide for my family. I really feel like a slave.

Where there is a will, there is a way. I need to make sure I get the most bang for my buck (maximum results) from my efforts. I need to focus my efforts on those things that are going to yield multiple benefits for the time and money I put in. I need maximum/multiple benefits from each input. I also need to do something each week (daily if possible) to keep me moving in the right direction.

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

 ‘Resilience refers to a system’s ability to accommodate variable and unexpected conditions without catastrophic failure, or “the capacity to absorb shocks gracefully” (Foster, 1993).  Security refers to freedom from danger or fear, which is an important goal of resilience.’ – http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm88.htm

Freedom implies an absence of restraint or compulsion, liberty implies the power to choose among alternatives rather than merely being unrestrained.  It is interesting to note that liberty can be extinguished in pursuit of freedom, depending on what is meant by ‘free’.

I believe in order to choose your direction you need to know what your definition of “resilience” is, and why you want to accomplish it.  I believe the following questions will help. 

What are the systems you are dependent on and want to be less dependent upon? 

Why are you dependent on them?

Why do you want to be less dependent on them?

I did not begin with these questions in mind, but I wish I had.  It would have kept me more on task and helped prevent me from wondering down a bunch of really cool paths (from getting sidetracked), but paths I am not yet ready for because I haven’t yet completed my fundamentals.