Dude? It's hard.
It is so hard to sustain yourself these days as an independent, self-sustaining human.
Today's message is like the one they give you in the survival packs--start cooking with dried beans and these stored ingredients NOW so that when you need them to survive you will be able to make them taste good and your body will already be used to it.
Yesterday afternoon I watched a movie with Anthony. It was a zombie movie starring Brad Pitt. I don't recall the name but it was made before the pandemic. It was fascinating medically to see how that one aged after living through a pandemic. But that is a side note.
Brad Pitt's youngest daughter was in the back seat of the car in Philadelphia or New Jersey when the zombie apocalypse began. They are in a terrible car accident. And she is complaining, 'I want my blanket!'.
Later, thanks to her dad's military connections with the UN, she gets her life saved and the entire family is on a boat in the middle of the ocean with the navy...and she complains, 'I don't like the food!'
Let's not be that girl.
Remember to gather knowledge. You Tube has excellent 'how to' videos on just about anything. When you meditate, see what Spirit guides you to learn. And when you learn, PRACTICE!
I share with my friends sometimes recipes I make, or my canning projects. I've seen this economic crisis of high inflation coming from a mile away. Cooking for yourself is the best way to save money. Like from scratch. Not opening up packages of processed food and mixing them together in a crock pot for hours. Real garlic you peel, not the kind in a jar. Real potatoes and carrots you have to peel. Spices you add yourself, not a mix of them. Even dehydrating food to store it. My friends think I am sharing a hobby. They laugh when I show how to make a recipe using canned chicken and say they can't eat it. I would like to think I had inspired some to cook and save money. But I see lots of posts of them from restaurants too.
You can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink.
Well today I will share with you the setbacks on my own survival skills to help you know what to expect.
My fig trees had beautiful production for two years. I saved fruit by drying it. But that was five years ago. Now the crows and beetles and squirrels and rats have found the trees. People in my neighborhood stop growing things because of the pests. You can't win. Unless you grow plants in a screen mesh cage made of metal and the bottom under the dirt is that metal mesh too.
I planted birdseed and got millet to grow. That was easy. But the safflower? So thorny and difficult to extract the safflower seeds out. A crop of them couldn't make enough seeds for my bird to eat in a day.
Chards and lettuces and arugula grow okay here in the winter and spring. But then? They get too much sun, bolt, and go to seed.
I tried growing wheat from wheatgrass. I actually bought some wheat berries in bulk. I tried using the blender to make flour. It is so crunchy still. You can't bake with it.
Citrus was a success. You can use a professional juice press, and freeze the juice. A whole crop can be done in a day.
I did read though online of a way to make zucchini flour. It's an Amish thing. And you can stretch your regular flour up to one third by adding zucchini flour.
Even the solar generator and survival products I bought? The one to heat water doesn't really heat it, it takes a long time. The solar generator takes longer than it says to charge. Sometimes two days. It is nice if the power goes out and you put it on the freezer or fridge. But even then it works hours, not days.
Who knows how to do these skills on their own without YouTube? Typically the elderly. But is this knowledge passed on? That's a good question. And is this knowledge at risk of being lost in a generation? Yes. And if the internet goes down, then YouTube goes away. Even if they adjust the algorithm such knowledge can disappear behind a paywall or worse.
Our ancestors were self-sufficient many years ago. They hunted and butchered and preserved meat. They foraged and farmed. They found ways through adversity like potato famines.
What we propose is to know your skill, and find people who you can share skills with. Develop a community of like-minded-people. It doesn't have to be in your area, but it helps to have people who can teach one another these basic skills. I have the medical skills, thankfully. But to be honest without the equipment it's not easy to practice.
And pray.
I have heard two concerning things online. Not sure if they are true. But one is needing a form of i.d. to buy food. A grocery card. In a far East country that is a phone app i.d. through facial biometrics. Just a gift card alone will not let you buy anything. The other is that genetically modified seeds grow in aluminum-toxic soil, but natural ones will not. All the weather modification is affecting farming. Again, I don't know if these are true. The ramifications are serious however.
Another thing I have noticed is that chemicals to purify water in your swimming pool (and purify water/disinfect it) have really gotten expensive over the last five years. One three inch tablet of chlorine at my local hardware store is like seven or eight dollars! It is not easy to find pure clean water these days. So have a plan how to obtain and purify water too.
My grandmother got my mom and uncle through war in Sicily. There was lack of food. Bombs. When the bombs came they had to run to the caves to hide. She followed her intuition. She prayed.
Together we can survive anything! Keep your focus on what you enjoy, and what skills you can master. No matter how small your contribution may seem to you, remember all the parts of the whole are important. A watch cannot keep time without every working piece in the right place inside. Embrace your skills, be mindful of the times, and practice your skill until you are good at it.
You've got this! Keep going!
clap! clap!
Aloha and Mahalos,
Namaste,
Peace,
Ross and Carla
The two who are one
