How To Not Get Eaten By The Cannibals

I’ve been thinking about how to prepare for the future. For one, I have a hunch that some nasty doo-doo is coming down the pike. And our modern life style could well come crashing down upon us in a very short period of time.

Yet, that is not going on at this very moment. Yes, there are very serious problems out there. We just haven’t seen their full impact, yet.

So, what to do?

After reading Deep Survival, I started applying his rules of adventure and survival to my modern American lifestyle and it’s future. The main rule is, Be Present. See reality as it is, not as you wish or believe it to be. Trust your senses.

Which means, I need to live today with what today presents. The Internet, internal combustion engines, a global food supply system are all part of my present reality. Add to that the information that is available about our supply of cheap and convenient energy in the form of liquid fuels. And now I need to plan somehow for an alternaitve future, that is much different from my current lifestyle.

The trick is to not be wedded to the future vision. As you can read in Deep Survival, attachments to future plans can kill you.

Here’s what I see. Our economy and the marvels of modern America, as we know it today, are dependant on a distribution system that utilizes cheap liquid fuels. It’s why China can be manufacturer for the world.

The system breaks down when (one example) fuel costs skyrocket for the delivery trucks. At local, regional and national levels. All of the sudden, our distributed food supply system, makes affording your next meal a serious issue. Let alone anything else you may wish to purchase.

On the other hand, adversity brings opportunity. Local producers of goods can become competitive in an environment where distribution is expensive. Meaning, one thing I would plan on is opportunities for providing goods and services that the large chain store can’t afford to provide when transport becomes so costly.

But let’s get to the worst of the worst cases. No food. The shelves are no longer stocked, because the trucks can’t afford to drive to the stores.

• Civilization ends when the food supply stops for more than a few days. And that could just be a local/regional phenomena.
• When people are hungry they will do anything to survive.
• People form tribes to survive. It’s only been a few short decades that we’ve experienced the non-tribal lifestyle. The tribal instincts are still plenty strong.

What do I need to be able to do?

• See solutions where others don’t. Know where to find food where others can’t see it.
• Be able to travel light without attracting attention or appearing threatening.
• Be able to protect myself and my tribe when needed. Because people will do ANYTHING to survive. Including eating each other. It’s happened many times in the past and can happen in the future. Without warning

These are all reasons why I invited Nathan Kempton out for the weekend of tracking and nature awareness. And, why I am taking his advice on learing my plants first and then applying that to waht he taught us about finding animal trails reliably.

It’s also why I am flying my friend Dwight out in October to put on a week long seminar. He’s experienced and highly trained in the art of street survival. He specializes in training people to defend themselves, fast, in realistic situations. Armed and unarmed. (Including military and law enforcement officers.)

So, I’ve got food and safety. We’ll leave shelter, water and transport for another time. What about the tribe? Yes. That’s the tough part. The tribe is as important to the human as food.

I’m getting started on it by inviting friends and family to those seminars. Building what has been called by others Social Capital.

That’s what’s going on around here.

In the end, it comes down to, make the most of today. Be ready for tomorrow. Be flexible.

And don’t forget to enjoy life along the way!!

Time to find a new plant to study.