"What do we do?"

Isn’t it interesting how timing and context can change the meaning of a sentence?  If "What do we do?" is heard during a time of relative calm but anticipated trouble those words sound prudent and wise, even thoughtful.  If those very same words are issued after a disaster they betray a completely different state – panic.  We live in a world that is that is highly complex with day-to-day  interaction with systems of weather, geology, social structures, biology,  technology, economics, just to name a few.  We give very little thought to what it could mean personally if one or several of these undergo large changes or a break down.  Typically, we rely on our recent experience to be our same experience in the future, when history has shown that is rarely the outcome.  In fact, history clearly shows this type of thinking to be dangerous.

It is amazing that we see no problem spending large amounts of time and money acquiring insurance against the possibility of loss of life however we give little or no time and resources to the possibility of difficulty of life, particularly when the level of predictability is much greater for anticipating hard times ahead.   And when those difficulties come, we panic, we cope, and then ultimately adapt, assuming that we were not overcome or consumed by the events.  There is a better way.

We are presently in the beginning stages of a crisis that has been long in the making.  One simply can’t ignore the fact that many things are not right with our economy, our culture, our country.  While you may be able to argue the causes, it is very clear the course we are on is unsustainable.  We can choose to ignore it all, throw the dice and hope and pray we are not overwhelmed by events.  Or we can do something about it.

When the clouds of uncertainty and future difficulty form on the horizon,  throughout history there has only been one answer to the question “What do we do?”  You prepare.

It is time to get your house in order.

Introduction