God, writing long threads on NS can be a dissappointment sometimes, I just had 45 minutes of progress on a thread just before this one that I lost because I accidentally hit create thread, but before I put a title in, so it just deleted everything and said "Error, you need a title". Sorta my fault, but its alright, I was rambling anyway. I'll try to be a little bit more ...poetic.. this time around the horn.
Anyway lately in my area some shit's been going down thats unsavory, sick, and downright disgusting. A man who lives about 30 miles from my house shot his 3 month old infant in the head.
A 13 year old killed her younger sister.
One of the girls I went to school with got in a car crash, shattered her spinal column and is floating in and out of brain death, in and out of critical condition.
Just a few examples of the shit that happens in the world these days, and thats just on a local level. Looking at things on a national level, and more grief comes to eye level: Oil spill, impending bankruptcy, war, increasing apathy among young people, etc. And on a world level, more than I could ever write about. And more than anyone could do anything about. Suffering is a fact of life that surrounds us at every moment. Hell, just in my house, my Step father is depressed about where he is in life; he drinks copiously, my mother is unstable, with low self esteem, and their relationship may collapse, leaving my beloved baby brother the life of a bastard, the same life I lead; a life with an underlying layer of pain. However much I protest or cry, though, this suffering does not subside. And should the individual problems that contribute to this suffering be ended, new ones would arise. So naturally, its in our best interest as people to accept and learn to cope with suffering.
So how can we keep our heads above water? How can we ensure that we do not drown in the seas of ignorance and blood? I didn't make this thread to give you a comprehensive guide, but to ask you of your opinion, so we can build off each other and make strides in this strange, quiet battle.
The foundation of my life was fucking shaky, and its hardened me to a whole spectrum of pain; because of this I've pondered quite often just what we can do to stay sane, honorable, strong, and likeable individuals. It seems that the more self sufficient we are, the better off, would you not agree? I mean this in a couple of ways. First, who are we economically attached to? If we possess the knowledge to grow our own food, raise our own milk, hunt and fish our own meats, and build our own homes, who are we reliant on other than ourselves? Not a soul. This seems like a simpler way to live. If your house is drafty, or your bread is bad, you have no one to point the finger at but yourself, so its easier to see the root of your problem. The same concept works the same way on an emotional level. Who are you reliant on for happiness?
I'm only throwing ideas around here; let's bounce off each other and see if we can get a productive thread moving!
Also, in an effort to increase my self-sufficiency and personal freedom, I bought one of these:
