Fellow Rebels,

I watched a couple of Youtube videos today that really got me thinking about the state of the common person.

In the modern world we have outsourced so much of our lives and responsibilities that at this point we have almost nothing to do with keeping ourselves alive.

The average person in the United States works a job that is so far removed from the basic needs of life that, were they to be placed in a survival situation, they would have no idea what to do. Or worse, they’d be a danger to themselves and others because of their fear.

This is a far cry from how the world has been for most of history.

Individuals were used to carrying the weight of responsibility for things like food, shelter, and clean drinking water.

On a practical level this meant that daily life consisted of a seasonally varied dance of indoor and outdoor tasks that had to get done, but rarely required one to be in a rush.

Contrast that with todays world and it’s as though the world has flipped upside down.

We feel like we have to rush to everything, our lives do not meld with the pace of the seasons, and we live nearly every single moment of our lives indoors.

And we’re surprised that people are unhappy and unstable?

I used to feel the same way.

The constant droning din of dis-ease underpinning every experience.

Always doing more and yet feeling less.

Since moving to our little shack on the hill, I’ve noticed monumental changes in this arena.

I am no longer in a rush. Ever.

I look forward to the grand swing of the seasons yearly, and enjoy ordering my life by their rhythm.

I notice the changes in my environment. When the black locust bloom, how the sycamore leaves brown first, where the frost line reaches in the valley below, and what time of year the birds start to migrate. This year, the birds were very early.

All of these things bring a sense of pace to the soul and a sense of place to the sole.

Your body learns about where it is and, call me crazy, adapts more easily to the changing of the seasons.

Your soul finds a sense of comfort in knowing you are part of this beautiful dance ordained by the maker. If He can coordinate this world-spanning waltz, can He not also take care of you?

The peace I feel now cannot be compared to the life I lived before.

And this is what is so important to remember: most people don’t have this.

Most people are watching tik-toks by people all across the world for more hours in a day than they are engaging with their local environment.

When things get tough - and they will get tough - these people will be utterly lost.

They will be a burden. They will not be helpful or useful or even safe to be around.

People that are unstable to begin with, who find themselves in what they feel is a desperate situation, cannot be trusted.

The moral of the story?

Fill your life with people you can trust.

Be the kind of person that can be relied upon.

Get your affairs in order.

Be ready for the storm.

Proverbs 27:12, “A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.

More soon.

-- John

May the Lord bless you and keep you, and make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.

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Feel free to write back to me.

God bless.