Dangers of Luxury

[ysabetwordsmith]

Here's an article about the dangers of luxury that connects the past with the present.


Luxury can be a very real trap. Here are some things you can do about that.

* Use the Amish rule: "Before adopting a new piece of technology, first determine if it will do more harm than good. If so, do not adopt it." You don't have to draw the line in the same place they do, but you really should think about this before adding more tech to your life. Also, they're a great source of inert tools that won't spy on you and are built like a brick shithouse. If you don't live near Amish territory, Lehman's catalog is available in paper or PDF.

* Check your life skills and survival skills. Can you meet your basic needs with little or no tech? Grow and cook food? Mend or make clothing? Start a fire? Build at least a temporary shelter? Do you have backups for flimsy, failure-prone conveniences like a woodstove or oil lamps for when the power goes out? The more you can do for yourself, the less dependent you are on others.

* Know the major hazards in your area. What luxuries or necessities would each hazard take out? How can you prevent or compensate for those losses?

* Make contingency plans. Have at least a Plan A, B, and C. More is better. The more ways you can do a thing, solve a problem, etc. the less chance they will all fail. Always have an exit plan! Not having a diversity of plans, including an exit plan, is a leading reason why people get hurt or pressured into hurting others.

* Know how to handle hardships. Equip yourself with distress tolerance skills. Here are some Stoic exercises and ways to develop your grit. However, it is crucial to apply these only for enduring hardships you choose or cannot escape. Never confuse a clay problem with a rock problem. Most problems are things you can and should act to solve, not just ignore.

Comments

[kaffy_r]

All of this is really useful - and makes me anxious, because I know I lack the discipline to get down and learn how to fix a simple faucet leak, or relearn how to fix a flat or replace the oil in my car (I long ago was taught those things by my Best Beloved, but have never thought to keep up the knowledge with practice. I also haven't had to replace the car's points and plugs because cars just don't have those much anymore, but I digress ....)

I am capable of simple sewing (hems, buttons, adding simple darts to things like maska) although I long ago gave my sewing machine to the Goodwill. Cooking and baking I can do. Not panicking when the electricity goes out is not too much of a problem; I also keep candles and oil lamps (and oil) around.

The medical things - first aid, etc. - are the toughest things for me, other than helping someone put on a bandaid or a simple gauze bandage, and of course cleaning the wound. Before my mother died I had the horrendous occasion to change a large bandage over a very large open wound, and I barely kept it together. Nor did I do a good job.

So much to chew on here. I'll say thank you, though, even if it does make me anxious!