I watched Shawshank Redemption the other day with my family and was reminded about how institutionalized we are, even though our prison does not have stone walls and razor wire perimeter. Wikipedia says;

“individuals in institutions may be deprived (unintentionally) of independence and of responsibility, to the point that once they return to “outside life” they are often unable to manage many of its demands.”

I bring this up because a common theme in what I talk about is to remove our dependencies on corporations and governments; also known as ‘institutions’. I’ve talked about the risk of corporations and governments failing and if they do, what can the individual do to provide for him/her self and their family. What are the probabilities of these institutions failing? Well I’ve been sharing in the last few weeks that the probability of this occurring is increasing. Last week I shared about the potential of arrests and the mass resignations that are occurring.

This video is a Fox News report about Timothy Geithner being detained and questioned with the possibility of criminal charges being laid. Who is he? He is the head of the US Treasury and he and a bunch of other people are in big trouble.

So if the rats are bailing out and people start getting arrested, let us look forward here a bit. I’m starting to wonder about what will happen if all these people are gone; what is going to happen to corporations and government alike all over the world? What confidences will the ordinary individual have in their ‘institutions’ once they see these things happening? Can the current institutions survive a mass shakeup of this magnitude? More importantly, can the individual survive the mass shakeup of their own world?

The process of deprogramming and removing all those institutionalized thoughts, feelings, images, assumptions, behaviors, etc is very difficult. Especially in an environment where those institutions are still very active in ensuring that people comply and participate.

I find myself still struggling with those challenges. A few people wrote to me this week expressing their concern about my emotional state. I have good days and bad days. For me, this is the process I find that I go through to process all these emotions and thoughts. It is hard to ‘let go’ of all this old way of thinking and the feelings are raw and painful for me. In the end though I find that I feel better and I can move on with one less thing to carry. Thank you to all those who wrote to me. I appreciate your concern. My concern is all those people out there who are not ready for this level of emotional trauma and are not able to process it in a healthy way.

In the end, I dedicate my commitment to share with people what I learn, feel, think and do. It is time to think about spring.

One of the goats here had three kids on the 1st, so we have been busy looking after them. Very exciting and learning lots.

We are also getting ready for hatching chicks as the incubator will be turned on in just over a week. So it needs to be prepared for that. The brooder, shed and chick feed all needs to be ready for hundreds of chicks by the end of the month.

I see no coincidence here that world events and local events all point to a spring birthing process. We are birthing something new and the changes are everywhere. This is not a matter of survival of the fittest. This is a matter of survival of those who are able and willing to deal with change.

So some important questions to ask;

*Can you feed yourself? If the corporate food system disappears, are you going to be able to grow your own food or do you have relationships with people who can? Now is the perfect time to consider this and get ready. Spring time is the time!

*Can you cloth yourself and do you have shelter that can withstand disruptions in institutionalized services?

*Do you have access to clean water and sanitation?

*Do you have a way to contact or communicate with your community of friends so that you all can work together? Have you made contingency plans?

These are simple questions and I believe that the probability is rather high that the confidence in the system will fall and we will be responsible for looking after ourselves. Those who are too institutionalized will struggle the most.