Must have balance, Daniel-San

So, we want to strongly point out that the Chicken Little syndrome (The sky is falling, the sky is falling) has never done anyone any good. Going crazy over prepping is counterproductive.  Here are some examples:

I was in a leadership position in the eve of Y-2-K.  Nearly every week I had to endure people who were very up in arms about airplanes falling from the sky, the entire power grid failing beyond repair, people being locked out of all their money resources, etc.  (Actually I am more scared of some of those things today than I was back then.)

I knew those things weren't going to happen  BECAUSE I had worked in computers my entire career and in the Electrical Generation and Distribution industry for over 10 years.  I told them over and over again, that no bank had ignored the Y2k issue on their 30 year mortgage (oops, our computer glitched, you don't owe us any
money any more) or that an electric generator did not care what the date was, only the billing department (they could just use 3-4 months of estimated readings and go right back to regular billing).

And funny thing, Y2K was essentially a non issue.  Businesses had at least a 10 year warning.  Everyone burned the midnight oil and the event went across like a small bump in the road.

BUT a lot of people who were not prepared made great strides to get prepared.  So Y2K did serve a purpose.

Another example is someone who never thinks or talks about anything BUT preparedness.  We all know people that only talk about Politics or Sports or Video Games or whatever.  They come across as irritating and as having a pretty flat personality.

So let's all avoid that.

Let's make sure we have balance in our preparedness, in our social skills, in our recreation, in our friends, in our own learning and growth.

Here are some suggestions.  (of course you can come up with your own, it's all good)

• Pick a classic novel and read it; even better, read it with a loved one or two.  Any title will do (The Bible, Little Britches, Jane Eyre, A Princess of Mars, Ivanhoe, Little Women, Call of the Wild, the list goes on and on).  When you finish that one, pick another, do it again.
• Find a hobby that is not all that productive, but calms your soul.  One of mine is dutch oven cooking, just for fun.  We like to cook for medium sized parties or small groups of friends at our home.  I love it. It brings me right back down to earth, calms my troubled heart. I had a friend tell me that working with his draft horses is both funner and cheaper than a psychiatrist or marriage counselor.
• Go camping with some of your preparedness stuff.  Practice with new equipment, or skills.
• Have a brush with greatness (classic novels do this). Visit Gettysburg, Mt Vernon, Lincoln's Home, Hannibal Missouri, any historic museum or site, again the list goes on and on.
• Learn to play a musical instrument. I am 50 years old and learning the guitar.

We would love to hear something you do to maintain balance in your lives.  Please post a comment.

People who have a more rounded life tend to fare better in times of crisis. Because life goes on, and inside or outside of some catastrophic event, we still have time to live, laugh and love.  Let's make the best of it.