Staying Afloat
Jun. 28th, 2025 06:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithAcademia: Staying Afloat
You are the right person to do what you do, know what you know, study what you’re going to study. You do it.
You are a lifeboat.
You are not the passenger being rescued from a shipwreck. You are the rescuer. Your skills, your knowledge, your experience reside in you. You have pulled them from the cold ocean where cruel and careless captains have set them adrift.
You are a lifeboat.
This isn't just about academia. It's about knowledge in general, and knowing how to think about things. It's about activism in general, and knowing how to change things. It's about crafting in general, and knowing how to make things. It's about everything the current regime is against, and trying to destroy, that we actually do need.
It's not about winning. It's about surviving. It's about preserving skills and knowledge so we can pass them on. If I lean to my left, I can see my "lifeboat" bookcase -- science, homesteading, handicrafts, historic skills, etc. Because I've done this before, and whenever I'm in a life where I can afford to do so, I hoard books and those are some of the first ones I beeline for.
If you're reading this blog, chances are, you're a lifeboat too. Steer wisely through these rough waters.
You are the right person to do what you do, know what you know, study what you’re going to study. You do it.
You are a lifeboat.
You are not the passenger being rescued from a shipwreck. You are the rescuer. Your skills, your knowledge, your experience reside in you. You have pulled them from the cold ocean where cruel and careless captains have set them adrift.
You are a lifeboat.
This isn't just about academia. It's about knowledge in general, and knowing how to think about things. It's about activism in general, and knowing how to change things. It's about crafting in general, and knowing how to make things. It's about everything the current regime is against, and trying to destroy, that we actually do need.
It's not about winning. It's about surviving. It's about preserving skills and knowledge so we can pass them on. If I lean to my left, I can see my "lifeboat" bookcase -- science, homesteading, handicrafts, historic skills, etc. Because I've done this before, and whenever I'm in a life where I can afford to do so, I hoard books and those are some of the first ones I beeline for.
If you're reading this blog, chances are, you're a lifeboat too. Steer wisely through these rough waters.
I needed to hear this, today especially
Date: 2025-06-29 12:28 am (UTC)Re: I needed to hear this, today especially
Date: 2025-06-29 05:33 am (UTC)You're good at it.
>> I've always hoped to pass on more of them than I have actually managed, but this post gives me hope that there's still time, that there are opportunities ahead.<<
One way is through writing.
Another is random chance. Last farmer's market, I got into a conversation with a baker. She mentioned that she doesn't do sourdough but is curious about it. So I talked a bit about pros and cons, suggested starting with a reliable culture and then experimenting with wild ones. She didn't know, for instance, that the white bloom on grapes is yeast and can be cultured. Just a random encounter, but it was fun for both of us, and maybe she'll decide to pursue sourdough eventually.
I'm an information dispensary. I just give off information like other people give off body heat.