Hello, my friend and welcome back! With the Christmas Season well under way, many Preppers face some unique challenges that test even the most hardened of us. This is the subject of today’s post so grab a cup of coffee my friend and have a seat while we visit.
I do love Christmas! It’s such a wonderful time of year when people get together and talk about old friends and love ones they love and the ones who are absent. It’s a time of Joy for most, but it does make you look a little more carefully at the decisions you have made in your life and the effects they have had on the people around you.
Let me give you an example. One of my coworkers was talking about a 60 inch TV he bought for his family and is going to surprise them with it Christmas morning. The thing is when he was telling me about it, all I could think of is the preps I could buy with what he spent on the TV. While I know it would make his family very happy, I couldn’t help but wonder how long they would last when it all falls apart.
You see, every year at this time, I find myself wondering if my choice to become a Prepper hasn’t had an adverse effect on my family and the ones I hold dear. It also makes me wonder if being a Prepper isn’t just way of being greedy by spending money on what I think we need rather than seizing the day and enjoying life.
Christmas has always been a time of soul-searching for me, I guess it’s because it is so close to the New Year. I can’t help but think others struggle with the same thing from time to time and I want to offer them a little advice that I have learned over the years.
If you live for today only and fail to prepare for tomorrow, then you are dooming both you and those who depend on you to a fate worse than death when it all falls apart and there is no job to go to or store to buy things needed. The truth is that I could more easily face my family knowing they will have a little less money at Christmas than I could tell them there was nothing to eat when it all goes wrong.
I still spend money on Christmas gifts for others, but I do it in moderation. I know that being prepared is a worthwhile goal and one that I will pursue till my dying day. If you are having doubts about your choice to be a Prepper, don’t. Being prepared is one of the most worthwhile goals a person can have.
Now I don’t mean you should deprive your family, but rather you should balance prepping against other things. You see life is all about balance. Left and right, light and dark, up and down and the list goes on because that is just how God made the world. If you get too far to any one side then your life gets out of balance and things don’t go the way they should. Maintain your balance and keep prepping.
Just because Trump has won the Whitehouse, doesn’t mean we don’t have anything to fear. In fact, until he is sworn in as President, things could still go bad in a hurry. Even after he is sworn in, there are still dangers that face the US like IRAN, N. Korea, China, and ISIS and so on. We cannot allow ourselves to think, for one minute, that we are safe because we are not.
The fact is, as Americans, we will never be safe, but then neither will anyone else. We live on a hostile planet and the best we can hope for is to be as prepared as possible to face the challenges that lie ahead of us. You just can’t do that if you are spending all of your money on toys and not looking to prepare for when bad things happen.
I guess the point of this post is to remind both you and myself that it is not just OK to prep, but that it is important to prepare to survive in this uncertain world we live in. It is also important to take the time this Christmas season to truly enjoy all of your loved ones, because one day, they just might not be there.
Well, I guess that is it for today and I hope you have enjoyed today’s post, until next time stay safe, stay strong, and stay prepared my friend. God Bless America!
-Sarge-
As we all weigh the celebration of giving gifts to each other in remembrance of the greatest gift of all, there is that, as you say, “how do I choose?”
As little mind tricks will give you insight to controlling joy-to-fear, my go-to for this quandary is this. Think of prepping as insurance, as in the simplest terms, that is what it is. We prep for water shortage, for food shortage, for family stay-ability, for nuclear contamination, for monetary and possible trading commerce, and even for government failure and/or collapse.
Remember, we Americans, are the refuse of the world. It is where our forefathers came to find freedom, a chance to start fresh, and removal of the tyranny that bound them elsewhere. And most of the world’s deprived still looks on in longing.
I know I am filled with love as I prep and as I give gifts during this season specific.
I do feel an urgency to set my family as much out of harms way, but also remember my forefathers suffered loss, suffered financial collapse, lost everything, and yet here we are in the land of plenty. And it is almost a national intuition, of how we, the ragged of the earth, find joy in rebuilding!
So, this respite we are in, I find joy and rest this season before I become ever-focused on the insurance side of life again.
Merry Christmas!
We started prepping in 2003 after an earthquake (we were in the boonies on 40 acres and the last on the list to get electricity). We kept prepping for emergencies. Then when Obama got elected, we prepped more because of the political climate rather than for mother nature.
Sarge,
I am like you, but now I feel that I have more than enough to get me through a disaster. I was afraid to leave my home. Its not a good way to live, or not live. We are going to Florida this winter, leaving all behind and I am happy to go. If I didn’t I would be depriving my husband of a relaxing time and some fun and sightseeing, good meals out. There is a point where you must say enough is enough. Your family will suffer. I also learned that an optimist, which my husband is, will live longer than a pessimist..me. I need to live every day and stop worrying about what could happen and enjoy my life while I am still here. My life will be better to keep happier positive thoughts…Give your family the best gifts you can and celebrate the beauty of the Christmas Season…Happy Holidays~Bonnie
Excellent piece, Sarg. It’s easy to become complacent after the Nov 8th election, but fool hardy to do so. I, too, breathed a sigh of relief when Trump upset Clinton, and questioned – briefly, if I needed to cut back on my preparation efforts. However, when I considered the reality of the world situation I came to the conclusion that if anything the threat has really increased. I doubt that the PRC is going to sit back and allow the USA to simply change our trade policies, Iran is not suddenly going to voluntarily abandon their nuclear program, and ISIS is not about to just lay down their arms and go home.
So what has changed? For the first time in almost a decade under Obama we have hope, the future on the surface looks brighter, the liberal left, which has run around like their hair is on hire will be forced to see reality as it is. The USA will regain some of its prestige as the world leader – but it all come with a price.
While I have always believed in moderation, that’s not the same as abandoning my preparation efforts. If anything, we can be best served by increasing preparedness where ever possible. Much better to be safe than sorry.