Powerless
Apr 12, 2013
People can be divided into three groups:
- Those who make things happen
- Those who watch things happen
- Those who wonder what’s happening
I think I consider myself to be #2 mostly on this list, and sometimes I am number 1 when I organize mockumentaries about missing eggs with my entire family over Thanksgiving and we make a movie from it. Complete with wigs and such, and no, I will not be posting it here for viewing. I would probably get kicked out of the Will if I did that. Besides, I want to do another one this Fall and I have to keep their trust…
Sometimes I think about how it would be to live without the conveniences of today. Dishwasher, washing machine, and sewing machine, microwave, oven, cookstove, running hot water, blow dryers, curling iron, vacuum, iron, coffee maker, light switch, refrigerator, freezer, phone, computer, radio, television, blenders, coffee grinders, crock pots, mixers, water filters, ice machine, toasters, lamps, air compressors, fans, heating systems, air conditioning, security systems… I can go on and on, but I think you may get the picture here.
When our power goes out. We are halted. I and do mean our lives stop! The sound of power going out in your house or store is deafening. The machines doing their jobs are shut off instantly and everyone stops with a beating heart and looks about with wide eyes, startled by the situation. Kids are freaked out and depending on what your doing and where you are, can cause a big problem for you. How often does traffic get jammed when a dumb stop light goes out? What happens in stores when the power goes out? How about something baking in the oven? Or you're in the middle of washing up in a windowless bathroom?
We depend on power now. Electricity has sped up our lives and has also made us more impatient and unappreciative. We no longer have to cook over a fireplace nor do we have to go into a dungeon where things are kept cold. We do not have to spend several hours hand washing our garments and hours stoking the fire and gathering wood. When we want a bath, we turn the faucet on and get ancy when the hot water doesn’t flow right away. When we want soup, we throw it in a pot from a can, put it on the stove walla! Soup done! We get frustrated when our computer isn’t moving quickly enough, and want to slam our phones down and crack them into a million pieces when they “don’t cooperate”. ( I haven’t done that to a phone, but I have thought about doing it a few times)
Our generation doesn’t know what to do without power. I’m not sure I would know too much myself. And that's a scary place to be. We think our power will always be there. We shouldn’t think that. We should be preparing for the “what if’s” and thinking about the possibility of our power being stripped from us.
If times get tough, there might be a lot less power for all of us. And I am speaking of not only Power as in the sense of electricity, but also in the sense of human rights. Think about what would happen to you and or your family if your power got shut off today. And never came back on. How would you live? And here is another question for you to ask, who is in charge of the power that you use now? For most of us, it's not us. So now, what would you do first?
Chris and I are thinking about this every week. We feel the rumblings of a future catastrophe, mostly politically and a civil war heading our way. And that's not counting earth’s groans and moans. You can call me a freak now and eat your words later, but the thing is, if I’m right and you just don’t care enough to pay attention to your world, I’m not going to be around to help you figure out how to light your fire and bolt your doors. I won't be having extra weapons to let you borrow and protect yourself and home from the thieves that chaos will bring to your front door.
So, what does this have to do with numbers 1,2,3 at the top of the page? Who am I when it comes to being ready for no power in more ways than one? Am I that person that knows what I’m going to do? Am I the person that is watching my world and its leadership? Or, am I the person that is going to be wondering what just happened and why it happened when it all comes down, two steps behind?
Yep, trying to make me think. And make you think. Be prepared to live without power. Watch carefully, and listen closely to your government and the few people that have control over our power and laws. Power has always been a thing fought over. I know, I have kids. It starts with kids does it not? Electricity is power. And those that have the keys to that force? Well, let's just hope their hearts don’t get greedy too soon. Sheesh, judging by our electricity bills, I would say the greed is growing.
Find out how you can be ready to be powerless
~Prudence
