Something else to think about....

[Copper Catcher]

There is nothing wrong with being prepared. In fact it is wise and prudent to do so.

However in my opinion you also have to understand both in your mind and heart that ultimately you are not in control. For some this is unraveling for others it is an understanding that they themselves are not in control of the universe.

Not being in control of all things and all situations makes a person dependent on their own faith and believes.

If you are an atheist I'm not sure what this means. If you believe in some high authority than yourself you probably have an opinion or feeling when it comes to good versus evil, what you think is right versus wrong, or what is moral and what is not etc.

Regardless, my point is no matter how prepared you are with stuff ultimately the biggest hurdle might not be having a physical item on hand that you need, but how your mind handles the situation you are in.

[68Camaro]

It doesn't always get communicated, but I think many of us here understand that "prepping" is a process not an objective, that is is impossible to be physically prepped for anything and everything, and folly to ever rest on those laurels no matter how well physically prepped one is. The mental and/or spiritual prepping (no matter what one calls that) is actually far more important than the physical prepping.

[NHsorter]

I believe that I am much more mentally prepared than I am in terms of physical goods. I think using logic over emotion is essential. I don't look to a higher problem to solve my problems, I look within myself. I am not an atheist. I just don't pretend to think that I can somehow know the meaning of life, the origin of man, and so forth. I am smart enough to know that no one knows that and no one ever will. I don't see how you could find all of those answers in a book. Especially if that book is the awful piece of trash that is the Koran. Which I actually read a large portion of. Holy crap!

Look, I have no problem with people being religious and going to church. None at all. Actually some of my favorite people are sorta churchy. But you just won't catch me there getting preached to. I just don't buy it. I believe in doing right, and I do fear god. I fear god because I don't know a dang thing about him and no one else does either. So I'm gonna be a good little boy as best I can until I die just for insurance. I truly believe that within myself I have the ability to persevere. Hopefully we won't have to find out.

Sorry if I offended anyone here with this. Probably should just keep my mouth shut unless it is about pennies. It's hard to philosophize with this persistent loud clicking from my Ryedale. Feel free to chime in and bash me for my ignorance, I am not easily offended.

[Tourney64]

Are you prepared for a Greece type event in the USA? Worst case Weimar type event. It's very obvious the path that we are heading. Need to have some preps so you are not fighting the mobs trying to feed their families. The more prepared you are the better you and family will fare.

[mtalbot_ca]

Hi there,

I am relatively new at the concepts I find in this portion of the forum, however I was wondering on how much of your preparation involves getting a social network around you (your neighbours, extended family members ...) being equally or hopefully differently prepared? The point you are making by not being in control, is absolutely correct. However, a community prepared,which entails giving up some controls could be better, in some circumstances than a series of individual being prepared.

For this, I would offer what my background in the army told me to follow (two simple rules): One man one kit and help yourself if you want to help others. Your thoughts?

[WizardTN]

One of the hardest things to do is convince others of the need to prepare. That includes, in many cases, an immediate family member.

It is too bad that the model that the Swiss present isn't more widely known. They have a bunker system that can hold the entire population of the country plus a million more. They have long term food stored to feed the entire population for 4 months.

If you try to get a community or even a neighborhood preparedness program established, you may be looked at sideways.
Good luck.

[quote]Mountainous and politically neutral, Switzerland has more than 300,000 bunkers, enough to shelter all 7.6 million Swiss with one million places to spare. But two decades after the end of the Cold War, the Swiss government says it needs more.[/quote] WSJ 6/25/2011 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304231204576405700994655570.html?mod=WSJ_World_LEFTSecondNews

[mtalbot_ca]

Thanks for the input.

Cheers,

[Mossy]

One of the hardest things to do is convince others of the need to prepare. That includes, in many cases, an immediate family member.

And if that immediate family member has access to your preps...

[Market Harmony]

Great message CC. Thanks for that.