Nothing could be more fulfilling than the very state of self-sufficiency. Any man or woman who has proven themself completely independent from the grid and who has managed to build a self-sustaining homestead has earned the highest achievement possible on this Earth.
Such an idea is romanticized commonly by not only those on the right side of the political spectrum, but this grass roots approach to life also gained favor on the left side as well. The idea of “Escaping society to a little quiet cabin in the woods” is also a very popular dream of young people regardless of political view.
Yearning to get off the GridWhile most young people are keen on traveling the world, I was living a transient life with no place to call home. Not having a base of operations day to day can be a detriment to any sort of professional development. Many years, I nested in both urban and suburban areas – Which quickly made me long for a peaceful place in the countryside far from everything that troubled me.
It started as a very liberal take: Going off the grid in a collective effort to create a more sustainable world; Romanticizing solar panels, growing one’s own food, and cutting ties with modern society. I didn't know what a liberal was nor did I care. This mindset lasted well over a decade, and I watched as it related to the conservative side as well: Romanticizing ‘Unplugging from the Matrix” as it would be referred to. Both sides could easily agree that housing is unobtainable for their entire generation. This is still a common viewpoint which I cannot tell if it should be taken literally or as hyperbole.
On multiple occasions, I had reached out to the Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage with a desire to one day escape the grid indefinitely. But I’d never be able to save up enough money to build a proper house and sustain myself there. Not at the time, at least.
Escaping the CityMany years had passed. In a combined symphony of being kicked around by life and taking control of it for myself, my wife and I settled on a house on the tail-end of the Chicagoland suburbs. It was far enough away from the Concrete Jungle I’d come to hate and within a mile from the countryside where I could smell the fresh crop fields at night.
It was no quiet cabin in the woods but I finally had both a plot of land on which to grow my own food and a permanent place to call home.
In the GardenA few years went by. By this time, I had built a fantastic prepper pantry. I had a place to safely store my firearms. And I had finally had the chance to grow different crops. It was by my second summer on this new property that I decided I would try to grow wheat. I wanted a chance to connect with our ancestral past and experience the laborious task of growing the wheat grass, harvesting the seeds, removing the chaff, and grinding the seeds into flour so that I could make my own bread.
Grains were the foundations of civilization. Surely, reconnecting with the ancient past would bring me some sort of ancestral wisdom. Remarkably, it did exactly that: It was nearing the end of Summer entering Autumn that I stood out there in my yard looking at the wheat grass seed heads start to develop. I thought I’d find joy in watching the fruit of my labor finally starting to take shape. Then a lightbulb went off in my mind and it had occurred to me:
Here I am spending countless hours laboring for a small patch of wheat which, if I’m lucky, might provide me with enough flour to make one or two loaves of bread. In these several hours of labor, I’d be able to provide a partial meal for my wife and I maybe two times. Meanwhile, the sandwich shop down the street is looking for employees. If I were to take a part-time job at night, outside of my regular day-job, then within a single hour, I’d earn enough wages to purchase several loaves of bread.
While I slave away over my patch of wheat, I make no friends and no connections. Whereas by working at the sandwich shop, I directly impact the town by providing sandwiches and a clean establishment at which to eat. The money I use to buy bread helps keep the grocery store open which then helps provide for the cashiers, stock boys, and business owner. It further goes to support the farmers who grow that wheat, the tractor manufacturers who produce the machinery for the farms and their employees, it helps the truck drivers who transport the wheat, it helps support the workers of the mills who process the wheat into flour, and not to mention the suppliers and distribution centers who handle the logistics of the entire supply chain.
Wow, in a single hour of labor at minimum wage, I could afford several loaves of bread which would help feed so many people… or I can squander my time on a single patch of wheat grass and try doing everything myself. It made me realize my time is much better spent elsewhere. And although we may scoff at the idea of working a minimum wage job, any person who labors for money is providing to this great thing we call civilization. It may not be perfect, but it is amazing how much a single person can contribute.
ConclusionIn conclusion, any person working to gain complete independence from the grid is acting in selfishness. The sum of collective human effort is far greater than what the individual puts in. Prepping is a fun hobby and a practical consideration for short-term emergency situations when supplies are cut off. Having said that, it can quickly cross a threshold of impracticality. Yes, should we ever see a complete grid-down scenario, I will be one of the first to go. However, civilization will actively work to avoid such scenarios. So it would be far wiser to work with others, be thankful for being part of the grid, and grow generational wealth, otherwise all you’re going to have is a stockpile of rice and beans and the degenerative health issues that come from trying to sustain one’s self off of rice and beans.
Ancient Babylon was the result of many tradesmen coming together engaging in business. If every man tried to do everything for themselves, there would be no civilization.
Also, the type of people who retire to small cabins in the woods are almost always people who have spent a lifetime earning their wealth from the exact grid of which they complain about. The entire idea of slaving away for a lifetime only to end up as a non-working person who contributes nothing for this world is a sad idea indeed. But that’s a topic for another time.
Perhaps the engagement in survival prepping is the manifestation of a man's deepest instinctual needs to make himself useful? The procurement of food, tools, and ammo is a quantifiable measure of the innate desire to hunt and gather. It is arguably more useful than spending this effort in a video game which would yield a virtualized version of the same results. Recognizing the value of these inherent needs, it is worth asking how we can spare squandering them on virtualized activities and/or stupid hobbies and integrate them into the society where real riches are made.
Tell me what is better than Mining and Crafting, and Shooting and Looting?
In closing, I ask you which is better?: A man who can only provide sustenance for himself and his immediate family or a successful man who both leads and serves in his community?
admin@oldman.wtf