Are we paying attention?

Growing up, my father always would comment that we had twenty years left and things were going to hit the fan. Well, twenty years came and went, we are on to the next twenty year time line and he is still saying it . As he says, "one day I will be right." There is wisdom in his words, however. Maybe it isn't 20 years, maybe it is 100, maybe it is 4. But, we should prepare like it is going to happen. If it never does, which is very unlikely, what are the repercussions? Food, savings, peace. I'll go with that.

Most of us are keenly aware of the situation in the world right now. It happened almost overnight it seemed, although it really was a work in progress. Many have been hit hard already, many just waiting to see how they will be affected. I think about this all the time. What are WE doing to prepare our homes, our families, our neighbors with the hard times that are to come? Are we the type to be the one thinking that if a hurricane came, we would just sit in our homes and hope that it would pass us by? Or, are we boarding up, preparing, getting ready so that IF the storm hits, we would be fortified.

My thoughts go in so many places on this topic and I really can't stop thinking about preparation these days. I think about our materialistic world, one in which I am present in and participate in. If you look at it from the outside, we have too much and waste too much. I was at the cabin last year working along side my grandpa Reid who is a child of the depression. I was using a rake, one which had to be from that era itself and the handle snapped. I told him that I would put it in the garbage and grab another one of the 20 plus rakes that he keeps around (he never throws anything away, another depression trait). He told me, "Don't throw it away, I will just put a new handle on it from a scrap I have laying around." I thought about the 20 plus rakes. I thought that surely we didn't need another one. Then, I thought about why he has so many. He values things. Our generation gets rid of something the minute it has a little scratch or problem. We are quick to replace instead of repair and reuse. I long for that society. The old saying "Eat it up, wear it out, use it up or do with out" should be back in style. The main reason our world is in such a mess is because we have shunned this saying altogether. We have spent more than we should, we waste food, money and think we need things that we don't. What have we been teaching our children? We want it all. We will now reap what we have sowed. There is hope. We can start now. We can teach our children what is important and correct our habits. We have started this in our family. We are watching what we spend even moreso and the children understand why. They get it. Our income may not be affected greatly now, but I am not going to wait. If you aren't the one affected now, great, but use that opportunity still to stock up, save and prepare because you can always then be in a position to help another in need. Besides, who knows if you will be spared. I think we are all to be touched by a little hardship.

It is overwhelming to think of where to start especially if you are in a financial hardship right now. But, it can be done little by little. First thing, start organizing your home so that you can find places to put extra supplies in. I junked out everything I could and even though I am the farthest thing from a pack rat, I still had several bags of donations to take out. I found extra space that shelves could be added. I created space I didn't think I had by eliminating things that I think I needed. This was all free. Next, start listing what you need to store. I love the website of Wendi Dewitt. You can check it out here. She breaks it down simply and tells you how to make a meal list and what to store. You can spend time learning how to can meats, fruits and saving for the equipment. There is another important thing we should be doing. Learning. Learning skills that we don't learn anymore. Learning to be resourceful. Do you know how to sew a hem? Cut bangs or little boys hair? Take care of a garden? Cook healthy meals on a budget?Make Bread? We need to get back to the basics and we need to create a network of friends who are willing to share their talents to teach these things if needed. This is all free. We can lean on each other more and utilize what we have here. Co oping with others who may have skills in areas that we need and offering up our services. My mother's ward had a neet program a few months back. They had a free rummage sale, so to speak. They had the members bring all items they wished to donate and made a store. They put up signs in different rooms for children's clothes, adults, household items, etc. People were then free to "shop" for what they needed for no cost. Consecration of goods. She lives in a nice area and thought this may be a bit of a pride issue for people. They got the hang of it and came out with some great things. We should be doing this type of thing in our communities. Helping each other out. Learning to be resourceful and share. Our society is out of practice.

This is a lot of rambling. But, I needed to get it off my chest. I read a very sober article last night. You can read it for yourself. It is from an interview with a man named Gerald Celente. He is a CEO of a trendsetter forecasting company who is famous for forecasting with accuracy the stock market crash of 87, the collapse of the soviet union and the current mortgage crisis. He is known as the modern day Nostradamus.I do not take this for prophecy but it is from a man who researches and gets it right. He gave this speech below on Fox news a few weeks back and even if he is only 1/4 right, it is scary. Take it for what you want, but at the very least, do something. No one was ever hurt by being prepared.

Gerald Celente
"The man who predicted the 1987 stock market crash and the fall of the Soviet Union is now forecasting revolution in America, food riots and tax rebellions - all within four years, while cautioning that putting food on the table will be a more pressing concern than buying Christmas gifts by 2012.
Gerald Celente, the CEO of Trends Research Institute, is renowned for his accuracy in predicting future world and economic events, which will send a chill down your spine considering what he told Fox News this week.
Celente says that by 2012 America will become an undeveloped nation, that there will be a revolution marked by food riots, squatter rebellions, tax revolts and job marches, and that holidays will be more about obtaining food, not gifts.
"We're going to see the end of the retail Christmas..we're going to see a fundamental shift take place..putting food on the table is going to be more important that putting gifts under the Christmas tree," said Celente, adding that the situation would be "worse than the great depression".
"America's going to go through a transition the likes of which no one is prepared for," said Celente, noting that people's refusal to acknowledge that America was even in a recession highlights how big a problem denial is in being ready for the true scale of the crisis.
Celente, who successfully predicted the 1997 Asian Currency
Crisis, the sub-prime mortgage collapse and the massive devaluation of the U.S. dollar, told UPI in November last year that the following year would be known as "The Panic of 2008," adding that "giants (would) tumble to their deaths," which is exactly what we have witnessed with the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and others. He also said that the dollar would eventually be devalued by as much as 90 per cent.
The consequence of what we have seen unfold this year would lead to a lowering in living standards, Celente predicted a year ago, which is also being borne out by plummeting retail sales figures.

The prospect of revolution was a concept echoed by a British
Ministry of Defense report last year, which predicted that within 30 years, the growing gap between the super rich and the middle lass, along with an urban underclass threatening social order would mean, "The world's middle classes might unite, using access to knowledge, resources and skills to shape transnational processes in their own class interest," and that, "The middle classes could become a revolutionary class."
In a separate recent interview, Celente went further on the
subject of revolution in America.
"There will be a revolution in this country," he said.
"It's not going to come yet, but it's going to come down the line and we're going to see a third party and this was the catalyst for it: the takeover of Washington, D. C., in broad daylight by Wall Street in this bloodless coup. And it will happen as conditions continue to worsen."
"The first thing to do is organize with tax revolts. That's going
to be the big one because people can't afford to pay more school tax, property tax, any kind of tax. You're going to start seeing those kinds of protests start to develop."
"It's going to be very bleak. Very sad. And there is going to be a lot of homeless, the likes of which we have never seen before.
Tent cities are already sprouting up around the country and we're going to see many more."
"We're going to start seeing huge areas of vacant real estate and squatters living in them as well. It's going to be a picture the likes of which Americans are not going to be used to. It's going to come as a shock and with it, there's going to be a lot of crime. And the crime is going to be a lot worse than it was before because in the last 1929 Depression, people's minds weren't wrecked on all these modern drugs - over-the-counter drugs, or crystal meth or whatever it might be. So, you have a huge underclass of very desperate people with their minds chemically blown beyond anybody's comprehension."

The George Washington blog has compiled a list of quotes attesting to Celente's accuracy as a trend forecaster.

"When CNN wants to know about the Top Trends, we ask Gerald Celente."
- CNN Headline News

"A network of 25 experts whose range of specialties would rival many university faculties."
The Economist

"Gerald Celente has a knack for getting the zeitgeist right."
- USA Today

"There's not a better trend forecaster than Gerald Celente. The man knows what he's talking about."
CNBC

"Those who take their predictions seriously . consider the Trends Research Institute."
- The Wall Street Journal

"Gerald Celente is always ahead of the curve on trends and
uncannily on the mark . he's one of the most accurate forecasters around."
-The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"Mr. Celente tracks the world's social, economic and business trends for corporate clients."
- The New York Times

"Mr. Celente is a very intelligent guy. We are able to learn about trends from an authority."
- 48 Hours, CBS News

"Gerald Celente has a solid track record. He has predicted
everything from the 1987 stock market crash and the demise of the Soviet Union to green marketing and corporate downsizing."
- The Detroit News

"Gerald Celente forecast the 1987 stock market crash, 'green
marketing,' and the boom in gourmet coffees."
Chicago Tribune

"The Trends Research Institute is the Standard and Poors of
Popular Culture."
The Los Angeles Times

"If Nostradamus were alive today, he'd have a hard time keeping up with Gerald Celente."
New York Post

So there you have it - hardly a nut job conspiracy theorist
blowhard now is he? The price of not heeding his warnings will be far greater than the cost of preparing for the future now.
Storable food and gold are two good places to make a start."

My two cents (and Gerald's) for the day. Take something from it. Start somewhere today. I do not get discouraged by this information. I get motivated and I find peace in knowing that if I am prepared, I need not worry. I look forward to the opportunity we have to grow as a family in learning to become more resourceful and to value even more what we have been given. It is a lesson for all. Are we listening?