NH Homesteader
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Does it count if my main fear is the fear of eating mass produced Tyson chicken?
Motivations
- Thread starter k15n1
- Start date
baymule
Sustainability Master
baymule
Sustainability Master
@Beekissed you didn't get it wrong. You simply explained your motivation for putting back for the winter. People have grown so accustomed to going to the store and buying food that locally, is not in season, that they really don't know any difference any more. As gardeners, we have an abundance of produce in the season in which it grows, so we can, freeze or dehydrate the excess for our enjoyment in the winter. That's not so much out of fear as it is just being smart.
NH Homesteader
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Yes that is the serious response. I wouldn't say I'm motivated by fear either. I would do what I'm doing regardless of what's going on around me for the health of my family, to save money, and because well we enjoy it.
It's funny because for the past week or so I've been wanting to start a thread about motivations for doing what we do... And I saw this title pop up and I went oh someone beat me to it! Then I realized it was the opposite lol. I wanted to ask people why you do this. Why do you choose to go pull kids out at 2 am or butcher chickens (which is my least favorite job ever) when you can go buy one for $1/lb. What makes this all worth it? I know my answers.
It's funny because for the past week or so I've been wanting to start a thread about motivations for doing what we do... And I saw this title pop up and I went oh someone beat me to it! Then I realized it was the opposite lol. I wanted to ask people why you do this. Why do you choose to go pull kids out at 2 am or butcher chickens (which is my least favorite job ever) when you can go buy one for $1/lb. What makes this all worth it? I know my answers.
frustratedearthmother
Sustainability Master
Well, maybe I'm just a little more simple minded.... but for example...
There's a hurricane attacking our lower east coast. People went out and bought supplies, water, bread, gasoline.... why? While I can't be 100% sure of their motivation - I think a lot of them did it because they were afraid there would be no food or gasoline for them if they didn't get it while it's still available.
As I mentioned earlier - I've experienced lay-offs, hurricanes and periods of less than optimal income. So, I try to keep a well-stocked pantry. If items I use are on sale, I buy more. Is it "fear" of having nothing to eat later... I guess it is. It's not a "quaking in my boots" fear, It's not a "run out and bop someone over their head to keep it for myself fear" but it is still best defined, for me, as a fear. I wish I had a better word for it....
There's a hurricane attacking our lower east coast. People went out and bought supplies, water, bread, gasoline.... why? While I can't be 100% sure of their motivation - I think a lot of them did it because they were afraid there would be no food or gasoline for them if they didn't get it while it's still available.
As I mentioned earlier - I've experienced lay-offs, hurricanes and periods of less than optimal income. So, I try to keep a well-stocked pantry. If items I use are on sale, I buy more. Is it "fear" of having nothing to eat later... I guess it is. It's not a "quaking in my boots" fear, It's not a "run out and bop someone over their head to keep it for myself fear" but it is still best defined, for me, as a fear. I wish I had a better word for it....
frustratedearthmother
Sustainability Master
NH - we must've been typing at the same time, lol. I like your idea! What motivates me to keep animals and all the extra work that goes with it? Someone asked me that one time and my answer was "It's what I do". Again, there I go with the simplistic answer - but it's my truth. I do it because I love it. It brings me joy and sometimes it brings me a peace that I can't find anywhere else...
Beekissed
Mountain Sage
Same here! God gave me land and expects stewardship of me, so it's a good redemption of the land to grow things on it rather than just mow it and look at it. Just so happens I LOVE to grow things and farm, so being a steward of the land comes natural to me and it brings me closer to the Lord in many ways that are so very precious to me.
I love the feeling of being able to grow my own food and I always have...it's nothing short of miraculous to me to plant a tiny seed and get a goodly amount of food back from it. Then to be able to store and preserve the excess is another joy...being able to taste the efforts of summer when it's snowing outside is another level of fulfillment.
As for raising the animals, there's a whole different level of joy that comes from that...just observing them and their ways is exciting, but to get the chance to care for them, helping them to fulfill their purpose here on Earth, and to honor God's creativity and artistry of design in that manner is a privilege.
It's also a great redemption of the time that the Lord has given me, while keeping my body active and my mind engaged. It's how God has chosen to provide healthy food for us and also give me something to do that I enjoy so very much...it's a win/win solution that only God could come up with, so that brings me joy as well. Just knowing that He loves me that much is really huge for me.
So the short answer is~because I can!
I love the feeling of being able to grow my own food and I always have...it's nothing short of miraculous to me to plant a tiny seed and get a goodly amount of food back from it. Then to be able to store and preserve the excess is another joy...being able to taste the efforts of summer when it's snowing outside is another level of fulfillment.
As for raising the animals, there's a whole different level of joy that comes from that...just observing them and their ways is exciting, but to get the chance to care for them, helping them to fulfill their purpose here on Earth, and to honor God's creativity and artistry of design in that manner is a privilege.
It's also a great redemption of the time that the Lord has given me, while keeping my body active and my mind engaged. It's how God has chosen to provide healthy food for us and also give me something to do that I enjoy so very much...it's a win/win solution that only God could come up with, so that brings me joy as well. Just knowing that He loves me that much is really huge for me.
So the short answer is~because I can!
- Thread starter
- #28
Interesting conversation. I'm designing medical devices these days so fear is something that I've been trained to sharpen to a fine point. Not so much the emotion as making lists of hazards and the harms that could result. Put those in order by how often they happen or how bad the harm is, and you have a formal risk analysis. It's fear, in an organized spreadsheet, in the proverbial nutshell. Importantly, though, it's actionable, not terrifying.
The idea I started out with was a step back from that... the imagined causes of the hazards. For example, running out of food to feed your children is a harm. The hazards that result in no food include drought, flood, blizzard, revolution, war, economic disaster, etc. Those all CAUSE the grocery store to be empty. My original post was inspired by people who want to talk about the cause of those causes, which are several steps removed from actually doing anythingl
For example, someone says that inflation is higher than the CPI, so food will soon be unafordable and people will be in the streets, looting neighborhoods, so buy a gun now. There are so many distractions in that sentence that we could argue all day about it and forget to lift a finger to make any preparations. Lots of things can cause temporary food shortages. There's lots to learn about putting up and growing food. But if you get drawn into a war-of-words about whether the government is a fraud because there are different ways to measure inflation, no progress is made.
It's not that I don't want to know the motivation of others---just that it should not be a huge distraction. Obviously, if we're all adult about it, should be no problem. But there should be some balance between pushing our own idea of how the world works and enduring crazy posts.
I'm thinking more generally than this forum---I'm not criticizing anyone in particular. Out in the world, people basically form groups with common needs or common likes. One thing we like is people with similar world-views. I think the prep/survival community should be a need-based group rather than grouping based on favorite fantasies about the future. By focusing on needs, we can deal with and learn from a much larger range of people.
(I keep tripping over this damn soapbox!)
Someone should start a "What's your SS motivation" thread...
The idea I started out with was a step back from that... the imagined causes of the hazards. For example, running out of food to feed your children is a harm. The hazards that result in no food include drought, flood, blizzard, revolution, war, economic disaster, etc. Those all CAUSE the grocery store to be empty. My original post was inspired by people who want to talk about the cause of those causes, which are several steps removed from actually doing anythingl
For example, someone says that inflation is higher than the CPI, so food will soon be unafordable and people will be in the streets, looting neighborhoods, so buy a gun now. There are so many distractions in that sentence that we could argue all day about it and forget to lift a finger to make any preparations. Lots of things can cause temporary food shortages. There's lots to learn about putting up and growing food. But if you get drawn into a war-of-words about whether the government is a fraud because there are different ways to measure inflation, no progress is made.
It's not that I don't want to know the motivation of others---just that it should not be a huge distraction. Obviously, if we're all adult about it, should be no problem. But there should be some balance between pushing our own idea of how the world works and enduring crazy posts.
I'm thinking more generally than this forum---I'm not criticizing anyone in particular. Out in the world, people basically form groups with common needs or common likes. One thing we like is people with similar world-views. I think the prep/survival community should be a need-based group rather than grouping based on favorite fantasies about the future. By focusing on needs, we can deal with and learn from a much larger range of people.
(I keep tripping over this damn soapbox!)
Someone should start a "What's your SS motivation" thread...
Beekissed
Mountain Sage
That's been done a long, long time ago....I remember the thread.
baymule
Sustainability Master
Haha @frustratedearthmother I have the word(s) you are looking for and it has nothing to do with fear. Why do you stock up when things are on sale? Because you are SMART it will cost more later, so stock up now while you can get a good price on it. I would call that financially responsible. Not fear.
You keep a well stocked pantry. So do I. If I buy one of something, I buy 2 or 3, I hate to run out of something and town is 9 miles away. I also stock up on sales. Like you I have lived in hurricane country, but seldom had the need to run out and sweep the grocery store shelves into my basket, fight my way to the check out stand, nervously eyeing everyone else fearing that they got something better than me or that I might get mugged in the parking lot for my basket of treasures. Why? Because I already have a half dozen of everything in the pantry at home!
So we are not motivated by fear. We are motivated by a deep visceral need for lots of everything. Ready for your word(s)???
Here ya' go;
SQUIRREL DNA.
Yup, we have squirrel DNA and we are impelled to pack it away for winter. We can't help it. So, no longer must you puzzle over your motivations, you now know why. We're just more than a little squirrely.
You keep a well stocked pantry. So do I. If I buy one of something, I buy 2 or 3, I hate to run out of something and town is 9 miles away. I also stock up on sales. Like you I have lived in hurricane country, but seldom had the need to run out and sweep the grocery store shelves into my basket, fight my way to the check out stand, nervously eyeing everyone else fearing that they got something better than me or that I might get mugged in the parking lot for my basket of treasures. Why? Because I already have a half dozen of everything in the pantry at home!
So we are not motivated by fear. We are motivated by a deep visceral need for lots of everything. Ready for your word(s)???
Here ya' go;
SQUIRREL DNA.
Yup, we have squirrel DNA and we are impelled to pack it away for winter. We can't help it. So, no longer must you puzzle over your motivations, you now know why. We're just more than a little squirrely.
