The Path to Resilient Living
At Resilient Living, LLC our ultimate goal is to make it as easy as possible for our community to start on the path towards resiliency and self-sufficiency. There is a lot of information out there and our hope is that you can capitalize on our time and efforts for your own betterment.
We also understand that getting started can not only be confusing and overwhelming, but also expensive. What to get, how much to get, where to get quality material, what should you prioritize? These questions all add to the procrastination of getting started.
To help alleviate some of these concerns we have developed a step by step path that will help you get started. With it we hope to enable our community to more effectively and efficiently obtain the knowledge and materials they need to start down the path of resilient living. It will take some time for you to read through the five steps and to begin acquiring essential supplies and knowledge. We recommend that you take your time and really think about the basics we outline for you, for there is much more to learn and much more at stake than you may want to realize.
Before we walk you through a step by step path to resiliency there are four main survival aspects you must consider to becoming truly resilient and a knowledge of the law of 3’s.
4 Survival Aspects
You cannot survive without knowledge.
You cannot survive without resources.
You cannot survive alone.
You cannot survive without hope.
*
Law of 3’s - You can only survive...
3 minutes without Air
3 days without clean Water
3 weeks without Food
*I made several youtube videos a few years ago about survival basics. Some of the events mentioned may be out of date but the information is just as relevant. I hope to make new ones in the coming years or if you are an influencer who wants to partner with me then send me an email.
5 Steps To Becoming Resilient and Ready
Step One: What Ifs
Why prepare?
What events could dramatically change your life in an instant?
I recommend you read through the “What Ifs” section and gain a knowledge of what we Earthlings are up against.
Step Two: Be ready to leave
There are many scenarios in which you might need to leave your house in seconds or minutes at best. You are probably in somewhat of a panic and won’t be able to grab all the bare essentials you need to survive for days or weeks away from home. Learn how to start building your evacuation kit and update it over time as you learn more.
Step Three: Be ready to stay
In most emergencies your home is the only place to wait and survive. Without utilities or grocery stores how long can you last?
Step Four: Knowledge is power
The knowledge you have locked away in your brain when your connection to Google dies is your main defense and asset in a world of chaos. It is advisable to start getting familiar with a wide variety of practical skills, but we suggest that you hone in on one or two that you can make your expertise. Then grow with your community to cover the rest.
Step Five: The ultimate goal
What are we aiming for when it comes to resilience beyond preparedness? Health, Wealth, Wisdom and Peace of Mind await those who join us in seeking a more secure and vibrant tomorrow. Financial Preparedness, Physical Preparedness, Emotional and Spiritual Preparedness will help you endure to the end.
Step 1 – What Ifs
We all think about the unknowns, the “what ifs”, of the future and prepare for them in a variety of ways. There are different schools of thought as to how much time or energy one should spend worrying about “what ifs” but we all agree that there’s prudence in not being caught completely unprepared. This is demonstrated by the billions of dollars Americans spend annually on insurance policies on everything from our health, our belongings, even our very lives. In every case we hope it’s a waste of money and we hope everything carries on the way it ought to… Yet the risk isn’t worth leaving yourself unprotected.
Asking “what if” about events that lay outside of your realm of control can be overwhelming. Who wants to contemplate catastrophes like earthquakes, floods, droughts, civil unrest or terrorist attacks? The fact of the matter is: out of sight, out of mind doesn’t mean its out of the realm of possibility. FEMA knows this, they recommend the average person should be prepared to wait up to 21 days for assistance to arrive. What is your insurance against being cut off from the outside world? Could you and your family survive for several weeks without electricity, water or trips to the local grocery store? This question can lead to inner panic, but we’d argue it should lead to action. This isn’t about betting that the world is going to fall apart, it’s about the peace of mind of knowing you won’t be caught completely unprepared IF something should happen.
The Potential Disasters
Natural Disasters
Earthquakes
Earthquakes can pose a serious threat. Many experts say that the West coast is overdue for a big one, with the USGS predicting a 7% chance, and growing, of a magnitude 8+ within the next 30 years. The effects of earthquakes can range from minor vibrations or small shifts up to complete destruction of property, roads, and utility services. Should a large scale event take place it could take weeks for local and federal response teams to get to your area with even the most basic of supplies. With full utility restoration taking months.
http://www.fema.gov/earthquake – FEMA: About
http://www.fema.gov/earthquake-hazard-maps – FEMA: Hazard Maps
http://www.redcross.org/images/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m4240216_Earthquake.pdf – Red Cross: Checklist
https://www.usgs.gov/ – USGS: About
http://emergency.cdc.gov/disasters/earthquakes/index.asp – CDC: About
http://www.opb.org/aftershock – OPB: Aftershock
Tornado/Hurricane
While Hurricanes mostly affect the east coast their effects can be felt across the nation. Activity in the gulf of Mexico sent gas prices up across the nation, and incidents of civil unrest occurred in areas where help took weeks to arrive. Tornadoes have a similar effect but can happen anywhere with little warning. The effects of sudden flooding and gale force winds will decimate any structure above ground and swamp any below.
http://www.ready.gov/tornadoes – FEMA: Tornadoes
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov – NOAA: Live Hurricane
http://emergency.cdc.gov/disasters/hurricanes/index.asp – CDC: Hurricanes
http://www.spc.noaa.gov – NOAA: Storm Tracker
Volcanic Eruptions
Volcanoes are nature's time bombs that never stop ticking. Living in proximity to even a dormant volcano is a very real threat. When Mount St. Helens went off over thirty years ago only a few people were caught in the blast radius, but many more were affected by floods, ash and logistical disruptions. There are several rumbling volcanoes on the west coast and precautions should be made to understand their possible fallouts (and their impact to you) should they suddenly roar back to life.
http://www.ready.gov/volcanoes – FEMA: About
https://www.usgs.gov/products/data-and-tools/real-time-data/volcanoes– USGS: About
http://emergency.cdc.gov/disasters/volcanoes/index.asp – CDC: Volcanoes
http://www.redcross.org/prepare/disaster/volcano – Red Cross: About
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/WorldOfChange/sthelens.php – St Helens: Visual
Wildfires
While primarily a dry season concern, wildfires can affect everyone. Many people have lost their homes and lives due to the speed and ferocity of wildfires. If our climate continues to get dryer their frequency and impact will become far more pronounced. Even if removed from the wilderness you can still be impacted by the fire indirectly via air quality drought and logistical interruptions. Always have a bug-out bag instantly accessible.
http://www.ready.gov/wildfires – FEMA: About
http://www.forestsandrangelands.gov/communities/cwpp.shtml – CDC: WildFires
http://www.readyforwildfire.org/wildfire_action_plan – Wildfire Action Plan
https://www.iafc.org/topics-and-tools/wildland– IAFC: Action Plan
Drought
Unfortunately, drought is in the “what if” category for the West Coast as it is now a reality that many have to deal with and prepare for. The combination of lower rain/snowfall and higher temperatures has put the west into a multi-year drought compared to what we once knew. Present in California for over four years, the situation has continued to move northward into Oregon and Washington as well, heavily impacting the farming industry throughout the region. No matter where you live you should store water in winter for months of rain free days in summer.
http://www.ready.gov/drought – FEMA: Droughts
http://www.drought.gov/drought – Drought Monitor
Man-Made Disasters
Industrial Disasters
Mankind has long labored to harness the power and resources of the world around us. While modern industry places a firm onus on safety and reliability these measures are often imperfect and prone to failure. This fact is perhaps most evident when reviewing the Fukushima nuclear reactor failure in 2011.
Similarly there are a host of dangerous energies, chemicals and products being transported or used in our areas, and it would behoove us to be aware of them and understand their impacts should the worst happen.
Economic Downturn
The memories of the great recession of 2008 are still fresh in the minds of most Americans. From job loss, home foreclosures, and bankruptcies those events shook our lives. Even those insulated from the worst of this downturn still found their lifestyles and spending habits forever changed.
If we did not before, most of us now recognize that excessive personal and governmental spending will always come back to bite us. The best question you can ask yourself is: “Have I prepared my finances to weather a future storm?”
Civil Unrest/ War
Often Civil unrest comes in conjunction with some other form of hardship or shock, be it a natural disaster or political/social swelling. As much as we would like to think a community will come together in a time of crisis we have unfortunately seen that this is not always the case.
With more countries becoming nuclear powers and unstable ruler’s threats going viral in seconds we must not count out regional or global wars. It is estimated that if an electro-magnetic pulse(emp) is set off over America it would wipe out our power grid and 90% of Americans would die in the first year. No food, water, sanitation, law etc. A real dangerous technology and a real reason to prepare your family for the effects of hate.
Finding Motivation and setting a plan
We recommend you try fasting water for one day or food for three (if physically able). You will then appreciate what slight deprivation feels like and can imagine what weeks could and would feel like. I guarantee it will motivate you to get started and your family will be glad you did.
http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-price-outlook.aspx – USDA: Food CPI
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db121.htm – CDC: Allergy Rate
http://www.resilience.org/stories/2013-07-22/the-energy-cost-of-food – Food Energy Cost
http://www.cuesa.org/learn/how-far-does-your-food-travel-get-your-plate – Food Travels
What If you were ready?
What if you had a fully thought out plan of action involving a community of people with diverse skills ready to bug out to a secure location stocked with all the supplies your family needed to survive for months or even years?
RL Recommendation:
Set a meeting with your family and make a plan of action for each event mentioned above. Where will you all go? What is your route? How will you communicate? How should we start? What is our budget?
Step 2 – Be Ready to Leave
There are many scenarios in which you might need to leave your house in seconds or minutes at best. You are probably in somewhat of a panic and won’t be able to grab all the bare essentials you need to survive for days or weeks away from home. There are many pre-made packs out there which are filled with low quality goods to keep the price down which would be better than having nothing. We recommend you build your own to fit your needs and become familiar with what is in there.
Evacuation Kits
An Evacuation kit, also known as a bug-out-bag, is the best way to begin building up your resiliency in the case of a major environmental or man-made disaster. Depending on the likelihood or severity of disasters in your area you may be compelled to prepare your kits for different extents of time. The benchmarks that we recommend for evacuation bags are 5 days and 2 weeks.
Beyond two weeks you are unlikely to be able to carry all you need on your person without resorting to living off the land or bush craft methodologies. However, if bulk transportation methods are still open to you, such as the use of a wheelbarrow, bike cart, or a car: You may be able to plan for up to 60 days worth of supplies.
The events that call for the use of such kits are numerous but are geared for the event of having to evacuate your area and/or finding yourself without proper shelter or access to food, water or utility services for an extended period of time. As a benefit, the supplies included within an evacuation kit will function just as readily as a stay home kit should you not need to evacuate your area.
Bug out bag
It is important to consider that you may find yourself in a position where leaving your home may be the only option due to local instabilities. Having a bug out bag for everyone in your family and a weapon is advised.
5-Day Evacuation Kits
A basic 5-day kit is a small pack that contains the most basic of necessities. These kits often forgo a lot of creature comforts that you may otherwise be accustomed to, but if you expect help to arrive within 5 days, most can rough it for that duration.
Basic 5-Day Kit Components:
Food and Drink
Freeze dried food packs
Granola/ Protein bars
10 X 4.227 fl. oz. Water Pouches
Life Straw
Stainless Steel Cup / Canteen
Portable Stove (Including Fuel Tablets)
Pump water filter (.01 micron or better)
First Aid and Hygiene
First Aid Kit
N95 Dust Mask
Wet Naps
Surgical Gloves
Waste Bag
Nano Silver Solution (immune boost, water treatment)
Hygiene Kit (Toothbrush/ paste, Floss, Nail clippers, Feminine supplies, toilet paper etc.)
Ibuprofen
Bar of soap
Tools
Flashlight/w batteries
Waterproof Matches/ Lighter
Mylar Blanket
Emergency Poncho
Gorilla tape
Small rope
Multi- tool
Large knife
Collapsible hand saw
Work gloves
Additional Items to include:
There are of course other considerations that may expand the breadth of your 5-day kit beyond these basic items. At Resilient Living we are not proponents of doing the bare minimum and we suggest that you take the time to consider including some of the following items in your kit:
Robust Shelter (One Large Tarp or Tube Tent per 2 people; Rope and poles as needed)
Copies of important documents (Drivers license, Insurance policies, Bank records, Wills, -Immunization records, Social Security cards etc.)
Cash (ATMs may be unavailable and Credit/debit card authorization impossible)
Change of Clothing (Tailored to your climate)
Hand-crank radio
Navigation (Compass, Maps)
Pistol and extra ammunition
Prescription medications / Glasses
Walki-talkies for each member of family
Playing cards
14-day Evacuation Kits
The 14-day Evacuation kits are largely expansions upon the 5-day core. Scaling the consumables (Water, food) to match and perhaps adding more creature comforts to accommodate the longer recovery period. Additional food and water requirements should also be addressed as extended exposure to a lack of these resources can severely hamper ones physical and mental ability to cope in potentially dangerous circumstances.
You may also wish to start including more high-quality items within your packs (Bush craft knives, clothing, Hiking tents, improved fire-starters etc). As is often the case most “bargain” supplies can’t handle the stress of constant, hard use and will quickly fail you if you’re relying on them day in and day out.
RL Recomendation:
Always keep in mind weight when building a personal bag. Buy a bag that holds all your gear and fits you comfortably on long walks. Then take a few mile hike to see if you need to reduce your load.
Car Kits
Keeping an emergency kit in your car is certainly a wise precaution to take. With the number of hours, the average American spends commuting every year it is a distinct possibility that when a disaster hits, it could happen while you are away from your home. Aside from your immediate needs or the (possible) need to be rescued, having supplies on hand while away from your home could prove integral if you hope to get back home to your family in a timely manner.
Car Kit additions:
Small bug out bag
Water
Water production (Ability to filter, boil to purify)
Blanket
Tarp
Toilet paper
Larger first aid kit
Freeze dried food
Small propane stove
Crank Radio
Shovel
Full Change of clothes for every member of family (you don’t want to get caught in loafers or heels)
Flares
We have made a survival gear checklist document available if you wanted a full list for all the segments of survival cache
Step 3 – Be Ready to Stay
With the standard amenities we all enjoy today, staying in your home for a month or more during a disaster scenario may sound easy, but if there was no running water, power, or grocery stores the task of securing your most basic needs (Water, food, heat) would prove a tremendous challenge.
You should be under no illusion that by virtue of being at home you have everything that you need to weather the aftermath of a major disaster. It is vitally important that you first store up enough supplies in your home to last until help arrives. A fully resilient set-up at home can take considerable time and resources to assemble, but it is important to look at it as a form of insurance. Can you insure that your family can survive comfortably for several months without utilities or leaving the home?
There are a few disasters in which you must leave your home or abandon it, but in most cases you either don’t need to, can’t, or simply don’t want to. There are certainly advantages to being able to stay at home in a natural disaster, it not only provides you with shelter but also a place to build up and store a vast array of supplies, which you will certainly need.
A lot of the most core supplies you will need for an emergency situation are well outlined within the Evacuation Kits section, so this section will focus primarily on what you can have in place in addition to those core supplies that will make life easier for you while staying home during a long-term emergency:
Stay At Home supplies: 30+ Days of Emergency supplies:
The key advantage for planning your stay at home supplies is that it allows you to leverage your home as an asset in the case of an emergency. If you find yourself fortunate enough to have your own roof still over your head, you can ride out any potential disasters within the relative comfort of your home.
There are a great many avenues that you can explore when trying to optimize your stay-at-home supplies. Each one has its own particular set of pluses and minuses so what may be best for me may not be the best for you given your situation, location, needs etc. Below you will find a break down of some of the most popular and/or reliable methods for gathering/storing the necessities for your stay-at-home kits:
Water
Access to water during a prolonged emergency situation is vitally important, not only for drinking, but also for food preparation, hygiene, medical, and even fires! While a minimum of 1 gallon per person per day is a good minimum we highly suggest 3 gallons per day per person (or more if you can provide the capacity!) Here are a few ways that can secure access to the needed quantity of water:
Storage
By virtue of being at home you can store large quantities of water with just a small allocation of space. While storing up bottled water is a good starting point, when you factor in a daily need of 2-3 gallons of water per person per day you’ll find that bottled water becomes prohibitively expensive and have a lot of plastic waste to deal with.
The best option is probably to allocate a space for a 50-gallon drum for water storage. Water bricks are a bit more expensive, but easier to use, store and move. Couple this with some Nano-silver sol for water treatment and you can store sufficient water for less than half the price of bottled water.
Food/Water Security
Water security
Our globe is covered in water and yet drinking contaminated water during an emergency situation is a leading cause of sickness and death. Many natural disasters can turn what were once clean water sources into polluted disease pits. Always have the ability to filter and treat water. 3 days without water is all you have.
It is important to store water and treat it with nano-silver today and recycle it every couple years. Remember that most water barrels are plastic and if shot, months of stores can drain in minutes. Store in places not in the line of fire.
Purification (Boiling):
Perhaps the best-known method for water purification is good old fashioned boiling. The catch here of course is that you need to make fire/heat to accomplish that. If a disaster of some sort has taken out your water supply, then its also very likely that your power and/or natural gas are out as well.
There are several products available that do an excellent job of providing the needed cooking power. For a list of Heat and cooking sources see the Heat/Fire section below.
Purification (Filtering):
Filtering water is another effective method of obtaining the water you need, assuming you have a reliable source of water. Wise company has a variety of water filters to choose from. Berkey water filters are also a good choice. While good water filters are a bit on the pricey side you must understand that your life will depend on it. Sickness caused by contaminated water is the leading cause of death in most disaster situations.
Purification (Treatment):
The most traditional methods of water treatment employ the use of Iodine, dichloro isocyanate, or chlorine dioxide. They taste terrible, but they do the trick. We recommend using nano-silver sol. Silver has been used for thousands of years to fight bacteria and with modern technological advancements less is needed to keep water pure.
Finding Water
It would be good for you to start taking walks around your area to locate water sources. Streams, ponds and other natural water should be noted. Collecting rainwater from your gutters or by using a tarp is another great way to collect water if you live in an area that rains. Always sift out debris with a cloth and purify before ingesting any water no matter how clean it looks.Shop specific items via our shop.
Ensuring your family has ready access to the food they need will do more than fill bellies: It will help provide a sense of normalcy and improve morale in a very rough situation. Initially your fridge and pantry will help support your family, but as the days pass the contents of your fridge and freezer will spoil and your day-to-day pantry will vanish. Having a store of dedicated emergency food will help keep everyone in top shape!
Food Security
Food security and quality is one of the major items of concern we have here at Resilient Living, LLC: There is no question that the cost of food is on the rise, averaging a 2.8% increase every year since 2000. This is a rate in excess of inflation or the average worker's pay raise. As such the average American is paying more to feed themselves every year!
There are also a great many questions surrounding the quality of the modern food industry. What are the effects, if any, of genetically modified foods? What does the use of excessive amounts of pesticides and preservatives have on my health? Is my food grown in a sustainable and humane way? Why are food allergies increasing at such alarming rates, is it linked with my diet and/or lifestyle?
Finally there are concerns regarding the food supply in general. How is the drought along the west coast and the mid-west going to affect the food supply? Where is my food coming from, does it travel around the globe before reaching my plate? Are there enough stores of food at the grocery to support my community in the case of a disaster?
We insure almost everything except our ability to eat. The only way to do that is to have long term food stored on site and heirloom seeds for the future.
The human body can only survive for 3 days without water and 3 weeks without food. And that is only true if you are not sweating or exerting energy.
Canned foods
Canned foods are a great place to start if you are working on a budget. Often you can find sales at your local market for various canned goods throughout the year, making them a very economical choice.
There are however a number of downsides to canned goods: they will eventually need to be replaced or rotated through and having so many canned goods with a relatively short life span means you will either be throwing out a lot of food or will need to incorporate it heavily into your diet as you near their end-of-life. Additionally, canned goods contain a high fraction of water content! Meaning that the volume and weight of their storage is pretty high for the number of calories and nutrition that you get out of them.
Dried Foods
Another great and economical place to start your food storage. Dried foods such as beans, rice, nuts, flour, pastas etc. can, if stored properly, be held in reserve for several years. As some of these items are staples in many diets they can be easily cycled through so long as you are vigilant in maintaining an emergency reserve. Many stores, such as Winco, QFC, and Whole Foods maintain a bulk foods section that offer these dried items at great prices. You can often speak with a store associate and get even better deals if you buy whole 25-50lb bags at a time.
The only downside to dried foods is that they, on their own, provide pretty bland diets and generally lack in a number of key minerals and nutrients. As such it would be wise to augment these with something more lively and interesting, such as fruits and vegetables, either through canned or freeze-dried foods.
Freeze Dried Foods
Freeze dried foods offer a lot of versatility in an emergency situation. They provide the best of both worlds with regards to long term storage (often 25+yrs and low weight/volume per calorie like dried foods) while maintaining a diverse selection of good nutritionally rich ingredients (Like fruits, vegetables, milk, eggs etc.). There are a host of companies that sell freeze dried food out there but we recommend https://www.americanreserves.com/
If there was a downside to Freeze dried foods it’s that, relative to other methods, it is more expensive. However, we believe that by the time you factor in storage space/time, food quality, and simplicity you get a considerable bang for your buck.
Keep your food safe from pests
Heat/Fire
While you may have a roof over your head you should still plan for utility services such as electricity and natural gas to be disrupted. Should the event happen during some of the colder months of the year you could find yourself in a tight spot with regards to keeping warm despite your shelter. Furthermore, without utilities most appliances such as stoves, microwaves, fridges and freezers will no longer be operable. You will need to consider alternative methods for both warmth and cooking.
If you have a regular wood stove or fireplace, you can use it for heat. However, DO NOT USE kerosene heaters, or any outdoor type heater inside. Such devices create poisonous gases such as carbon monoxide, which is an odorless and colorless gas that can be fatal!
Propane stoves
Propane stoves have exceptional versatility and are often used for camping; many people have these sitting in their garage already and will work wonderfully at home in the case of an emergency. Just ensure that you keep enough fuel on hand to last and you should be good to go! Of note however: propane stoves pose a risk if used indoors and should only be used as such if you are able to provide sufficient ventilation, as such their use as a source of heat is inadvisable.
Fire Logs
Fire Logs such as the popular ‘Duraflame’ or Fire pucks are a nice, compact source of heat if you have a fireplace in which to use them. Often, they are formulated to last a fair number of hours, so you can ration them out to keep cozy as needed. These can also double as a heat source for cooking as well.
Kelly Kettle
The Kelly Kettle is a personal favorite of ours: It is a wood burning ‘rocket’ stove with features that help utilize every BTU of heat produced by burning wood scrap (which should remain plentiful in an emergency situation). It’s compact and offers exceptional utility in providing both a heat source (given ventilation indoors) and cooking power.
Keeping the heat in
If there is an emergency that takes your heat sources, having proper clothing and blankets will help. Taking advantage of body heat may be your only option. It is advisable to use blankets to close off a small room to keep heat in. If your house is damaged we recommend having thick plastic sheeting with staples, nails and duct tape to seal off holes in your house.
Rocket Stove
https://amzn.to/4n0Mh9A
Food that multiplies
While having a large supply of long term food storage is a great place to start, it will not last forever. Ideally it should be used to supplement your own garden and livestock. We will talk more about gardens and homesteading in the next step, but having heirloom seeds and gardening tools on hand is vitally important for long term survival at home. Many modern seeds are hybrid GMO seeds that do not reproduce more seeds for the next year.
Food will be the currency when the economy dies so be sure to stock up enough for your family and a bit extra for others.
Alternative Energy
There are several ways to keep your power on. Many take fuel and will run out when civilization stops moving. There are alternative means such as solar generators, water turbines and wood gasifiers that utilize the resources around you. Along with these things you should get items that take rechargeable batteries.
General Needs and Miscellaneous
With your core needs (water, food, heat and shelter) covered there are still a host of additional supplies you should consider stocking up on. To start with: take stock of what you use on a day-to-day or week-to-week basis. A buffer of your standard consumables like toilet paper, dish soap, toothpaste, batteries, feminine products and vitamins should be on hand as insurance against a long-term emergency.
Some additional stay home items may also include:
Slings/Braces
Pain Killers/anti-inflammatory (Aspirin, Ibuprofen etc.)
Digestive aids (Antacids, Laxatives, Anti-diarrhea meds)
Allergy Medications (Antihistamines)
Burn ointments
Tools (Scissors, tweezers, thermometers)
Prescription Medications
Hygiene
Camp Shower
Flashlights (with spare batteries)
Solar Charging station (For phones and other small electronics)
Two-way Radios
2000-Watt Generator (Optional, but could be used to power your fridge, a deep freezer and run a microwave)
Entertainment
Cards
Board games
Baby Supplies
Children activities
Pet supplies
Books
Step 4 – Knowledge is Power
As we mentioned earlier in the aspects of survival: You cannot survive without knowledge. Knowledge of the dangers is a good place to start and helps motivate you to start preparing but having a skill set based in practical knowledge turns you into an asset. When the grid goes down, what you know and the skills you have learned before that point will be more valuable as time and supplies dwindle.
Another important survival aspect is: You cannot survive alone. While it would be great if you had a basic knowledge in every area related to survival, most people just don’t have that much time. If you have or are building a readiness community it would be wise to pool physical resources, but also mental resources. A diverse group with many skills greatly improves resiliency. We recommend picking or delegating areas of learning to group members and keep up accountability with monthly meetings to encourage progress.
External Education Community
Resilient Living is a growing and diverse community of educators, pupils, contributors and beginners. We don’t pretend to know it all, but we are constantly looking for opportunities to learn and expand our horizons from those around us. Our hope is to then, in turn, direct our community to those individuals that have taken time out of their own lives to help enrich ours.
To that end you can find several affiliated, and unaffiliated sites and resources categorized below that we have personally found to be both informative and of the highest quality. Please, take the time to thank, subscribe or otherwise support these resources in turn.
Gardening
Emergency Preparedness
Homesteading
Aquaponics
Security
Emergency Preparedness
Being prepared for an emergency goes far beyond having a pile of supplies. Knowledge and experience is the true key to making it through harder times. Below you will find a number of links to sites and media channels with some useful emergency preparedness, first aid, and bush craft pointers.
Look through the government sites and join your local CERT team.
Government preparedness resources.
FEMA (https://www.ready.gov/)
CDC (https://www.cdc.gov/phpr/areyouprepared/)
American Red Cross (http://www.redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies)
Medical/First Aid
Bush Craft
The Patriot Nurse
Though more concerned about the event of WROL, the Patriot Nurse is a deep well of knowledge on medical, first aid, hygiene and herbal treatments. If you are to find yourself in a situation where you are disconnected from the established medical system you will not be sorry about the time invested in watching her content.
https://www.youtube.com/user/ThePatriotNurse/featured
Basic First Aid
When it comes to first aid, you don’t want to waste valuable seconds shifting through a book for instructions. The linked video is a wonderful resource for learning basic first aid, even if the sound is a bit on the quiet side.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsPAXYA7yYQ
MCQ Bush Craft
A UK based outdoorsman, Michael provides many informative and high quality videos on a wide range of camping, foraging, and equipment topics. Glean some knowledge on emergency shelters, wildlife trapping, plant identification and more! Michaels pace and presentation are exceptional and you will soon find yourself longing to get out into the woods!
https://www.youtube.com/user/MCQBushcraft/featured
Alfie Aesthetics
An often quirky, entertaining, and at times crude channel that provides some wonderful pointers for wilderness survival, bush craft, hiking and recreational camping. If you’re up for a laugh and some education this is a great channel to follow. Take the knowledge extended and apply it to your own emergency gear and camping/hiking extravaganzas!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2TXg45Dbt2de8auakllW8g
Survival Lily
A fun channel where Lily documents her efforts and knowledge regarding survival skills in the wilds of Austria. Though we would argue that at times her Dog is the star of the channel we do enjoy the dynamic duo in their adventures
https://www.youtube.com/user/alonewolverine1984/featured
Gardening Resources
Whether you’ve just started to garden, have a slight green thumb, or have chlorophyll in your veins, it’s always good to learn from the methods and efforts of others! Below you will find several sites and multi-media channels that provide high quality, educational information on how to start or improve your garden!
We recommend that you start gardening today to learn what works while taking full advantage of the internet. We also strongly recommend that you pick up some books for when the internet can no longer help you. We have a few book recommendations in our store, but there are hundreds out there. Get books for every aspect of survival.
Other people to learn from
One Yard Revolution
Excellent quality and information dense videos on most all you need to know for your backyard gardening. Much of Patrick's work is based on optimizing his yards output with a minimum amount of effort. To this end he spends a fair portion of his time trying new things to see what works best, providing an opportunity for us to learn from his efforts.
https://www.youtube.com/user/OneYardRevolution
Suburban Homestead
A relatively new channel, which makes it perfect to pick up on from the start! Enjoy the fun style of story telling as he builds garden beds, grows his own foods and herbs, and battles a ground hog! Includes several wonderful DIY videos as well.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcpWQjpQJ465FYJEx2DuDFA
Allotment-Diary
An engaging channel of an Englishman managing his allotment. There is a little bit of everything for an aspiring gardener to enjoy in the form of tips and tricks galore! Watch yourself getting entranced as he tries new things and pushes ever harder to grow his show crops bigger and better.
https://www.youtube.com/user/allotmentdiary
GrowingYourGreens
An informative and varied channel covering everything from gardening, Aquaponics, sustainable agriculture, food preservation and DIYs. Though often long winded, you will almost certainly find a little something interesting at growing your own greens!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUnFheTbVpASikm0YPb8pSw
Webpages:
Grow Anything
A wonderfully comprehensive guide on how to grow… well… Anything! Flowers, fruits, vegetables, herbs, Soil preparation and maintenance, pest control, weeding methods, bed preparation, It is ALL here!
http://www.growinganything.com/
Permies
A site promoting the use of re-used material and permaculture concepts. A Forum based site with a lot of community driven experimentation and knowledge. While the items of interest are well categorized it can still be tricky to find what you're looking for, but it is very often worth the effort! Take a dive and see what you can find!
http://www.permies.com/
Mother Earth News
An excellent source for gardening, green energy/homes and homesteading information. Sign up for their publications and newsletters for exceptional quality and informative information on the aforementioned topics.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/
Homesteading Resources
Homesteading is a lifestyle that aims to provide a significant degree of self-sufficiency. It is not for the faint of heart, but the rewards for all your hard work and long hours is simply incalculable. The modern concepts of Urban and Suburban homesteading have further empowered those interested in better preparing themselves and their families for the unknowns life has to offer.
Simple Suburban Living
From various DIY activities (like making soap from bacon grease) to traditional gardening, aquaponics, backyard chickens and more. The SSL Family channels provide a wonderful baseline for learning a wide variety of resilience minded skills within a suburban setting.
https://www.youtube.com/user/SSLDad/playlists
Wranglerstar
Start near the beginning of a man and his family’s journey to become more resilient on their own homestead in the vicinity of Hood River Or. With high quality videos he does a wonderful job of portraying the spirit of the life he now tries to lead, after leaving a high figure salary in the big city. Armed with an insatiable desire to do things right and proper you will find yourself itching for his next upload.
https://www.youtube.com/user/wranglerstar
My Little Homestead
You can’t help but chuckle when watching the antics this family gets up to in their quest for a simpler life with family at its center. Leaving the big city to lead a healthier lifestyle, you’ll be constantly engaged and intrigued by their ingenuity and determination to make every effort and project count!
https://www.youtube.com/user/mylittlehomestead
Becky’s homestead
Watch and listen to Becky’s engaging story as she goes from owning nearly nothing to becoming the proud, mortgage free, owner of her own homestead! Get a taste of a wide range of topics from animal husbandry, gardening, raising chickens and many DIY projects.
https://www.youtube.com/user/scottpictures/featured
Kirsten Dirksen
Though not a content developer herself, Kirsten re-posts a large number of interesting, informative, and high-quality videos typically related to homesteading, tiny houses, livestock, back to the basics, and self-sufficiency. Often the source of these videos is from Faircompanies.com.
https://www.youtube.com/user/kirstendirksen/featured
Webpages:
Permies
A site promoting the use of reused material and permaculture concepts. A Forum based site with a LOT of community driven experimentation and knowledge. While the items of interest are well categorized it can still be tricky to find what you're looking for, but it is very often worth the effort! Take a dive and see what you can find!
http://www.permies.com/
Mother Earth News
An excellent source for gardening, green energy/homes and homesteading information. Sign up for their publications and newsletters for exceptional quality and informative information on the aforementioned topics.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/
Aquaponics Resources
Aquaponics is the use of a water-based system for feeding and growing your own food. Its main advantages are improved efficiency of resources and space, at the cost of initial expense and complexity. It is a recycling system where a mini garden is fed by water and nutrients, generally from a fish tank. The water is recycled through the plants and medium and goes back to the fish clean. So, at the end of the day you have a fresh supply of fish and nutrient rich vegetables.
Bigelow Brook Farm
Watch from the very start of this man’s journey with the construction of a beautifully designed geodesic dome wired with solar cells for power and a rocket stove for heat. Located in Connecticut, this channel shows how, with the use of a home-built aquaponics system, you can truly grow year round anywhere if you have the tenacity to challenge yourself.
https://www.youtube.com/user/web4deb/featured
Simple Suburban Living
From various DIY activities (like making soap from bacon grease) to traditional gardening, aquaponics, backyard chickens and more. The SSLFamily channels provide a wonderful baseline for learning a wide variety of resilience minded skills within a suburban setting.
https://www.youtube.com/user/SSLDad/playlists
RobBobs Backyard Farming
You’ll find a lot of useful tips and tricks in RobBobs backyard farm. From worms, fish, chickens, aquaponics and more. This Aussie has a lot to offer the budding self-sufficient farmer.
https://www.youtube.com/user/bnbob01/featured
The day we processed the tilapia. Fish Fry!
Security Resources
As we were doing market research for Resilient Living, most of the common answers to the question of how people will survive during a time of disaster were sad and disturbing. The one we received most often was something along the lines of getting guns and taking from their neighbors. Often said in jest, but when they get desperate enough that is exactly what they will do. So, security is vital.
There are many things you can do to improve your security. We believe that guns and violence should be the last resort. We at RL are hoping to reduce the need for violence by educating and equipping people beforehand so communities can work together to sustain then rebuild before desperation sets in.
Grey Man vs Hard Target
There are two main types of strategies when it comes to security in a time of chaos. Grey man and hard target. Depending on your situation and location you will have to choose one and allocate time and resources towards it.
Right now, currency is green paper fiat money. It has no real value except what we give to it. When society breaks down it is useful in starting fires and nothing else. Food, water, gear, and shelter will be the currency of the next age. Gold and silver are transition currencies as a new system of government comes back online. All of which are only useful to you if they are with you on site. Also, highly sought after when the national supply and distribution system stops. Police will be scarce, busy and potentially non-existent, so you are on your own if the disaster is big enough.
Grey Man
If you do not want to inform the world that you have a stockpile of supplies and only have a small community, we recommend the grey man strategy. This basically means to appear as bad off as everyone else. When seen outside your house don’t look well fed, groomed and fully equipped. When inside your home keep aromatic cooking to a minimum and speak to people about what you have at a low level. It is also wise to make the front yard look as though you have already been looted. Throw trash and broken furniture outside your front door. Do your best to be unseen.
This is a strategy that is selfish in nature, but you are responsible for your family first. It will work for a while. Hopefully long enough to where help comes, and society starts to rebuild. However, it cannot work forever. Unless you have built a large bunker under your house with years of storage you must at some point start planting crops and hunting small game. There will also come a point when your house will be attacked no matter how minuscule your presence might be. We will get to home fortifications later.
Hard Target
If you have built a self-sufficient lifestyle with crops, animals, multiple families etc. then you are a hard target. You cannot hide so you must appear too strong to mess with. You must be armed and look armed at all times. When out and about you must travel in groups and ready for a fight. While this may seem like a foolish way to appear as opposed to grey man it is the only way you can help others. It is also what our society is right now. America is strong and looks strong which discourages other countries to invade and pillage us. We also help many smaller countries because we have the resources to do so. You need to have a community of people to make this work. Always having at least one person, day and night, keeping watch.
We hope to build many hard target communities in an area that can help those around them get back on their feet, reestablish trading of resources and rebuild safe communities.
Home Defense
There are many non-violent options to protect your home. Installing stronger doors, getting a dog, putting up signs about trespassing, solar powered motion lights and other means of deterring people from approaching. It is a good idea to start protecting your home now for men with evil intentions exist in peace time as well.
There is a lot on Youtube about home defense. Here is a link to get you started:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwhFF8KT5Bw&t=21s
Self Defense
You may have heard it said. “Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.” It is true that having the ability to defend ourselves is a human right and an American right under the second amendment, but that right is under attack. If the state goes down, wild west law will rule the land. Having firearms and knowing how to use them is imperative to survival in those days. While pepper spray, knives and other non-lethal means are helpful in slowing or stopping attacks they are not very effective in a gunfight. Being less armed than your enemy will get you killed but having a gun without ability to use it will too. We recommend taking a class to get training on how to use and secure your weapon. It would also be a great idea to take a class on basic self defense. Hand to hand combat is romanticized in Hollywood, but in the real world it is scary. Your body will only react in the way you train it to when under extreme stress. Learn now and fight later.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2XIwuYE0nY&t=2s
General defense and survival advice.
Viking Preparedness has a wide range of survival advice you should hear. Joe Fox has many years of experience that he freely shares. Start with his “5 things to never do” to get inspired to secure yourself and check out others.
Joe Fox – 5 things to never do
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4yA90IMFpE
Rebuild and Repair
After a disaster you will likely need to repair and rebuild.
Step 5 – The Ultimate Goal
I would imagine by now you are starting to understand what the heart of Resilient Living, LLC truly is. We know how many variables one must consider becoming fully prepared for everything and no matter how much you prepare beforehand you will never be done. Being resilient is a lifestyle and system of beliefs accompanied with surrounding yourself with people you love and trust, and gear. We want to help you so that you can in turn help others. If every American went through this five-step path, prepared their family, and realistically contemplated all the risks and dangers of a sinful world then no war or disaster could get the better of us. Every citizen should have 3 months to 2 years of back up supplies ready for the inevitable just as they have insurance for cars, houses and even death. If you believe the same, please pass Resilient Living on to others and be a part of the resiliency revolution.
The most important things to start doing now!
Financial Preparedness
Physical Preparedness
Emotional and Spiritual Preparedness
Large medical bag
https://amzn.to/42AVz4T
Financial Preparedness
Financial Resiliency isn’t just about setting aside some money (though that is highly recommended), it’s a lifestyle, and depending on your individual situation may take years to realize true resiliency. After the start of the 2008 recession many individuals found themselves living close to the financial edge and have spent much of their time since working hard to recover.
Some were perhaps more fortunate and may have merely stumbled a bit or forgone raises for a time. Regardless, the lessons of 2008 are clear: The good times don’t roll on forever, every so often our financial ground shakes and if we are living on the edge we may well fall over.
There are several aspects of financial preparedness to consider, but for simplicity sake we have isolated two main pillars that you should concentrate on when trying to establish your baseline financial preparedness.
Logistical Preparedness
One of the first and easiest things to do is to organize your financial information including assets, liabilities, insurance, deeds, legal and medical documents, passwords, personal documents, etc.
The organization of these items may seem like an odd priority, but in the case of a major emergency, like a natural disaster that requires you to abandon your home it is important that you have quick and easy access to these documents. In the end this can save you an amazing amount of headache as you try to obtain medical assistance, filing insurance claims and just generally getting your life together. We also suggest keeping them in a water-proof bag.
Emergency Savings
The other piece of financial preparedness is becoming financially resilient by buffering your lifestyle with a store of funds or resources so that you can better weather the unexpected, like unforeseen medical expenses or a car break down, up to supporting your family after a layoff to rebuilding your life after a major disaster.
Instead of putting a dollar amount to the recommendation of emergency funds most industry experts use the metric of “Months of Living Expenses”. The reason for this is that everyone’s lifestyle differs, and as such the amount of resources needed to maintain that lifestyle will differ from one person or family to the next.
All that being said, the general rule of thumb for minimum financial resiliency is given as 3 months. However, most will recommend that you save 6 months, and some will even suggest up to a year. We highly recommend this Forbes article on the matter as it includes an overview of the need for a rainy-day fund and provides a calculator to give you an idea of how much you may need to save.
At a time where more than 70% of Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck saving up this amount of money may seem as if it's impossible. However, for those dedicated to pinching every penny out of their dollar there are some steps you can take to help you reach your financial reserve goal. Some basic steps you can take, in the broadest of terms are:
Live within your means
Spend less than you bring in. Regularly exceeding your income is a surefire way to get into serious debt. Once you’re in that hole it can be exceedingly difficult to climb your way out. So create a monthly budget and adhere to it!
Commit to becoming debt free
If you are heavily in debt, more and more of your hard-earned income simply vanishes to interest payments. Even a small debt in a low interest account can soon turn into a monster if left alone for any length of time. Pay off your credit card every month!
Invest your money in something that provides a return on its value.
While stocks, mutual funds, IRAs, and 401(k)s get all the attention when it comes to financial investment (and their use is highly recommended) there are other ways to invest your time and money. Some more physical alternatives could be a garden to grow those expensive fruits, vegetables and berries. Or perhaps purchase some tools for a hobby that you enjoy and could maybe make a bit of cash for doing on the side. Or probably most important: Investing in classes and materials to improve your knowledge and know-how.
Be willing to change your lifestyle to attain your goals
Many of us become complacent in our lifestyles and expectations. Do you really need that $5 coffee every morning? How about that $150/month smart phone bill? Do you eat out every week? What about that big vacation you take every year? When you start looking at your budget and lifestyle you can almost always find items that you can live without and removing them can make all the difference for financial resiliency.
Gold and Silver
Gold and silver have been seen as a form of currency for thousands of years and that has not changed. China and Russia have imported tons of gold and silver in recent years and we should all do the same. We cannot mass produce precious metals like we can fiat currency which gives it actual value. We recommend allocating at least ten percent of your investments into precious metals as a means of protection against volatile, ever changing markets.
What if I can’t afford to become resilient?
We understand that even after you tighten your belt you may still find it hard to spend up to thousands of dollars on items you may not need to use for a few years. We don’t want money to hinder you from the beginning. It is vital that you don’t procrastinate and start doing little bits as you can now, but we want our members to become resilient faster than that. So Resilient Living has found a solution by adding a product advocacy plan. If you are willing to help Resilient Living grow we can in turn help you get some, if not all, of your products and resiliency supplies paid for. Contact us to learn more.
RL Recommendation:
Read through this financial page again and then take a look at your budget. Set aside a monthly amount that you deem prudent for acquiring resiliency. Later when you journey through our shop consider starting a relationship with us so we can help you protect your family. This website is only a fraction of what we have to offer.
Physical Preparedness
We have discussed many factors that contribute to your resiliency, but if you don’t have your health you have nothing. It is easy to buy gear and watch educational videos but keeping up discipline in order to build physical strength is not easy. There are plenty of excuses such as having no time, not knowing how to work out, and simply not motivated. All can be overcome if you truly understand how important pushing yourself beyond comfort zones is what generates resiliency in every arena of life.
Survival of the Fittest
The survival law of nature states that only the strongest will survive. When a disaster comes that forces you out of your home with your bug-out-bag strapped to your back you will be glad that you had been working out. You may need to carry children, climb through heavily damaged environments and even fight to the death. Excuses of laziness will not help you, but fitness will.
Muscles
Building strength is more than doing push-ups. If you have no experience in a gym we recommend hiring a personal trainer. They aren’t that expensive and exercising without proper technique may result in injury which in turn costs you more money and time.
Here are a few steps to getting a good workout:
Warm up – Jog for a short time in order to get muscles warm and blood moving.
Stretch – Stretching is under appreciated, especially by men. Most injuries are caused by shortened/ tight tendons and ligaments. Stretch every muscle you can find every day.
Start off slow – Maxing out will ensure soreness and kills motivation. Ease into your work out regiment with low weight circuit training to get conditioned.
Range of motion/ form – When lifting, proper form will guard against injury. Extend all the way out and back to access the full range of motion each muscle can move.
Increase weight and muscles groups – As you get stronger try different work outs and add more weight. If you don’t increase you won’t grow.
Cardio – Your heart is a muscle and getting your heart rate up for long periods of time will increase your stamina and general health. Sweating is also good for you. It expels toxins and also releases positive endorphins.
Rest and recover – It is important to let your muscles rest between workouts. Also eat protein after each workout or take a protein supplement. Drinking a lot of water and adding salt to your foods is important as well.
Immune system
It is important to remember that if you don’t use it then you lose it. Repeating steps 1 through 7 in the previous section will boost your immune system and add years of vitality. Get your blood moving at least once per week. Stagnant blood is not healthy blood.
It is vitally important that you keep your immune system up in a disaster situation. Most of us rest easy knowing there is a doctor on call at all times, but that won’t always be true. Having shelter is the first step to keeping your body heat up and out of the weather. Second. Wounds as simple as cuts can get infected and lead to blood poisoning and death. A strong immune system can help fight off injuries but having a knowledge of first aid will save your life. (Emergency preparedness) Third, having proper nutrition and amounts of water will keep your body functioning. Beware of drinking contaminated water. No matter how thirsty you may be, getting sick due to bad water will destroy your immune system and quickly lead to death. Pathogens will become more of a concern in these situations which is why we strongly recommend having a supply of nano-silver sol. It kills bacteria, viruses and mold. It can also purify water. It is a simple yet amazing technology that you shouldn’t be caught without.
Food just isn’t what it used to be and having a supply of high absorption rate vitamin and mineral supplements is strongly recommended. The soil and produce of our day is not as rich as it once was. Our diets, likely for most of us, are not as green as they should be. So making up the balance with supplementing is vital to building resiliency.
You must carefully consider the brand of vitamins you get. Many are worthless and much of what is listed on the back of the bottle doesn’t actually absorb into your blood stream. We can offer access to our members to an exclusive wellness shopping club that has patented multi vitamins that are proven to have the highest absorption rate known to man.
Essential oils and green products
We see Essential Oils as something that will benefit you in many ways. We have researched the best quality (purity), availability and pricing. We would be happy to help you learn more about what nature can do when we unlock the gifts within.
Cancer has been on a rise in our society over the last hundred years for many reasons. One main cause of cell corruption is the toxins you ingest and inhale on a daily basis. Carcinogens in the products you use break down cellular structure in the body, which often causes mutation. A major dose of any poison could kill you quickly. Why spread it all over your house and body? Most of the popular grocery store brands have known toxins in them and yet they are still sold and used daily by millions. What you don’t know can absolutely hurt you.
Resilient Living has partnered with the best supplier of essential oils, dietary supplements, and green products. The health and wellness page will connect you to our wellness consultant who will tell you more about cleaning out your bodies and homes.
Hygiene
Without prescription eye glass shops in existence you may lose your sight which could cause your death. Get your eyes fixed if you can or at least buy an updated and sturdy spare or two.
Keep your teeth clean. Dentistry will turn into hammers and pliers if you let your teeth go. Swishing nano-silver will help keep germs from growing in your mouth. If you can keep the liquid in without swallowing then swish for 6 minutes for best results.
Skin conditions, rashes, and infections will result in prolonged times of being dirty. Itching is not something you need to deal with when running for your life or planting food. Have plenty of water on hand and a year round water source to remain clean. Stock up on good soap.
Feminine hygiene and contraceptives should also be stocked up on. You may want to avoid getting pregnant until things settle a bit and until then think about what you would have to use once you ran out of your favorite modern conveniences.
RL Recommendation:
Wash yourself with one gallon of water for the experience of bathing efficiently. Then imagine how bad you would smell if you had no water at all.
Go to our Fortify your Health page to get proven health solutions.
Emotional and Spiritual Preparedness
It is hard for most people to believe that anything bad could happen. Or at least to them. A world of chaos, disasters, wars and the like come more often than most people realize, and we are overdue for something big. Normalcy bias runs thick in America, but what you don’t know can definitely hurt you. And what you believe in will keep you alive. (What If’s)
We have heard from many people that they would rather die then have to live in a world like that. Often from the fathers/ protectors of the family. It makes us sad and a little angry when we hear them say that and they may want death, but is that what the entire family wants? Whose responsibility is it to keep your family alive?
Emotional
Post dramatic stress disorder affects thousands of soldiers who return home from war. They experience horrific things that no one should have to bear. So, after taking the right steps in preparing in every other way, getting your mind right and ready will be the biggest challenge. You may have to witness death. Maybe even cause death when the world falls. Hollywood has desensitized us and romanticized violence and disasters, but when you are in the thick of it your mental fortitude may be at risk. Everyone has a breaking point and yours may come sooner than you might think. Yet thinking is becoming a lost art in a world of digital distraction and constant busyness. We recommend that you take some serious time to think and decide what you will do in dangerous situations now. If you plan to be proactive instead of reactive then your resiliency will greatly increase.
Don’t buy a gun for protection if you don’t mentally prepare yourself for actually using it. If you present a gun and freeze without using it, you may likely get shot by your own weapon. Statistics show that people are quite often killed by their own weapons due to slow reaction times and lack of follow through. Do everything in your power to avoid confrontation, but don’t hesitate when that moment comes.
It is also extremely important that you talk to your family about why to prepare and practice bugging out. Also, to have a detailed plan for where to meet up and what to do in case of emergency. Having a plan of action will greatly reduce fear and confusion in times of chaos.
Spiritual
There is more to our world than what we can see and touch. You may be the most physically equipped and well-read person on earth, but death is inevitable for us all and the most likely outcome for a lot of us during a catastrophic event. Clinging to what you believe in and having hope that runs deep will get you through when all else fails.
Lacking a fear of death is a powerful tool when presented with treacherous times. If you are the one who remains calm and then reaches out in love in those days, you will be able to lead people into the kingdom of peace and freely give truth to those who seek eternal security.
Evil
The hearts of man are easily taken over by evil. And much evil will be seen when law and order break down. There are millions of anarchists who can’t wait for that day, but what really drives them? How far will they go to survive?
Will you join them or stand against evil in those times holding fast to your honor and morals?
Those are not the people you want to be bumping elbows with at the grocery store on the day the whole world learns it will never be restocked again. Please go home instead. Take out your resiliency supplies and locate your loved ones. Don’t go into the chaos seeking a temporary solution to a long term problem.
Become a client of Resilient Living and let’s learn together how to best avoid inevitable events. Our biggest goal at RL is to offset the wrath of a reactive society and aid the proactive people who want to survive. Peace of mind.
What we do in life echoes in eternity!
