[Ainan]

I have been relatively optimistic about peak oil and the coming die off up until the last month. In the last month or so we have seen food prices surge along with everything else and peak oil entering the main stream more.

My plans rely on the system chugging along for the next 2-3 years much the same, with the masses generally ignorant. But the whole thing seems to be crashing down quicker than i expected, or perhaps I've just been spending too much time reading about doom.

I thought i would start this topic since i could not find too many recent ones, about how members have overcome despair? There are people here who have been members since 2004, how did you feel then about the situation? Did you blow it out of all proportion? Have you learned to live with it? or does it come back to haunt you every now and then?


Basically i want to know how you live without breaking down and going nuts. Golem excluded of course.

[gnm]

I've been here a long time and I tend to be the pessimistic/doomer type although I am not prone to panic and am generally solution/logic driven. That being said my personal observations/projections have repeatedly been TOO OPTIMISTIC. Its disconcerting.



-G

[vision-master]

Been there done that, ain't planning on doing it again.

Face your dispair, embrace it.

[BigTex]

Gallows humor is the best.

[Ludi]

I'm a happy doomer.

Stuff happens, we die, oh well!

[bobaloo]

I've been "prepping" for a long time, probably 30 years or so. I started out my career as a population biologist and it didn't take long to look around and see what was coming down the road for industrial civilization. It's not an obsession, most of the time anyway , but just my way of life. I like living in rural areas, I like farming and gardening, I've always preferred a low-stress slow paced lifestyle with no urge to live in the fast lane. My everyday way of life is what most people would call prepping.

I overcame despair before that. In order to have despair you have to have hope. Once you really realize deep in your gut that you're going to die, and that every day you get is a blessing of borrowed time, there's no room for despair. I had the good fortune of working in a hospital for years and dealt with death and dying every day, old people, newborn babies and everything in between. Some died from cancer, some we never knew what went wrong. I've held dead babies and washed the bodies of old people. Get familiar with death and lose your fear and despair.

I never had that much use for Carlos Castenada, but one of his ideas always struck me, the part about death being an ally, always just out of sight and urging you onwards.

I've also had enough personal experiences to know that the material world we occupy is just one small part of the cosmos and that some part of us, call it what you want, is outside of that reality and we're just here visiting. Make the most of the trip and enjoy the ride.

If you're having trouble with despair over the situation just try to keep your life in perspective. A poor person in a developed country today lives better than most of the kings throughout history. They live better than 99 percent of the people on earth today. I saw the other day that half of the world's population has never made a phone call. If you have a warm dry place to sleep and enough food to not be hungry, if no one is shooting at you, you're way ahead of the curve. Too often we buy into the media created reality where no one works and everyone is rich. Turn off the TV and unplug from media to look around the world and see how real people live, you'll realize how fortunate you really are.

None of us know what is really going to happen. The key to surviving whatever life throws at us is attitude and flexibility. In difficult situations more people die of giving up than malnutrition or freezing to death. Take up meditation. Just the act of sitting quietly and watching your breath for 20 minutes will calm the busy monkey mind and let you look at the world with fresh eyes. Read the Diamond Sutra, take a walk in the forest. learn to feel deep time, visualize the geologic changes that have created the place where you live. Any of these things will help change your perspective.

[Ainan]

Thank you for your posts everyone.

Strength through hopelessness. Interesting... Think i will unplug for a few days to reflect on this.

[MarkL]

generally speaking...

If something is bothering you and you can do something about it, you'll despair much less.

If something is bothering you and you can't do anything about, you'll need to get over it - and then you'll despair less.

If you have a support group(like us ) that understands your issue(s) and can provide support, you'll despair much less.

If none of that helps, just think how special you are that you are here in this unique time in history and that you have front row seats in the big show

mark

[duke3522]

Despair??? WTF?? We live in the golden age of mankind, and you dispair!! Hel, i'm as big a doomer as the next, but to dispair over the coming shit is silly. You'll have plenty of time to dispair as TSHTF!!

And take it from a guy who was basicly dead, has no insurance,has no money, and can't get a job to save my life!! Dispair is a waste of time and energy!! Get the fuck up and put that energy to work!!

my work is to build a large garden not only to eat out of ourselves, but to take advantage of higher priced, low quality produce in the markets, and sell real local food at the farmers market!!

And if a 46yo, 650 pound guy can turn things around and not dispair, why can't you!!

[vision-master]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('duke3522', 'D')espair??? WTF?? We live in the golden age of mankind, and you dispair!! Hel, i'm as big a doomer as the next, but to dispair over the coming shit is silly. You'll have plenty of time to dispair as TSHTF!!

And take it from a guy who was basicly dead, has no insurance,has no money, and can't get a job to save my life!! Dispair is a waste of time and energy!! Get the fuck up and put that energy to work!!

my work is to build a large garden not only to eat out of ourselves, but to take advantage of higher priced, low quality produce in the markets, and sell real local food at the farmers market!!

And if a 46yo, 650 pound guy can turn things around and not dispair, why can't you!!

[duke3522]

If all you do is get online and moan about it, it's a terible thing!! Get out there and live!! We all die soon enough to worry about it!!

[vision-master]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('duke3522', 'I')f all you do is get online and moan about it, it's a terible thing!! Get out there and live!! We all die soon enough to worry about it!!

[jasonraymondson]

I prefer to wallow, just me

[bodigami]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ainan', '(')...)
Basically i want to know how you live without breaking down and going nuts.

[HEADER_RACK]

What dispair? It's going to be an exciting and challenging time to live. Just think the decisions you make today could litteraly mean your life or death. The ultimate game of chess! With the Ultimate stakes at hand!
We have become soft as a species time to learn to really live again were your decisions MATTER and have CONSEQUENCE!
THRILLING!!

[mos6507]

"...I wish none of this had ever happened," and Gandalf replied, "So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time we are given."

[catbox]

I just continue to rejoice in the good things in my life....family, friends, music, art, food, cycling,.....I have also started to really enjoy the whole act of improving the living space to produce ooodles of food and all that goes with it.

It's easy to go nuts if you let it get to you.
I have had mental health problems due to a withdrawal syndrome
I acquired from stopping booze and antidepressants cold turkey about 19 months back (unwise choice that cold turkey method!). That's getting better, but I have also learned that taking major breaks from all the bad news helps the noggin a bunch!

catbox

[Kaj]

Mos, I have to say, that is the first post of yours I actually like.

I'm sure it was totally cynical, but whatev.

---------------------------

Here's my boost:

Remember: it's just a ride.

[kpeavey]

Arbeit Macht Frei

[Ainan]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('kpeavey', 'A')rbeit Macht Frei