Is it time to go inside?
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Greg accuses me of ‘going meta’ at the drop of a hat. He can do a pretty good imitation of me noticing a new flavor of ice cream and turning it into a case against postmodernism. He’s probably right that I get a little loony sometimes, judging from the fact that a bit of gardening yesterday had me musing over echinacea, Sacagawea, pantries and — what else — the “looming crisis.”Cutting away dead stalks from the echinacea plants, I found myself thinking that when they’re in bloom this year, I should pay more attention to harvesting the seeds or whatever other parts might have medicinal value.
And then I wondered what had made me think that. I’m not much for homespun things like stocking away herbal remedies.
But then, I knew what had made me think about it almost as I was asking myself the question.
“Of course. Because it may be time to go inside.” Funny how I’ve been thinking that more and more, and funnier still that I hear a lot of others thinking along the same lines.
That expression — go inside — came from a documentary I saw about the Lewis & Clark expedition, of all things. When the expedition made its slow, crawling way across the Northwest, they encountered — surprise! — the Sierra-Nevada mountain range. But they had no idea what they were up against. As each new crest only showed them how much more they had to go, they had to fight just to stay alive. And according to one of the documentary’s commenters, Sacagawea dealt with the situation by using a native American coping mechanism — “going inside.” She seemed to shut down to the outside world. She didn’t talk or respond when others talked to her. She didn’t waste energy with the social niceties; she kept herself to herself.That expression has stayed on my mind. And that’s what I’ve felt like I’m doing these days, not with friends and family, but with the whole busy, demanding culture that seems so intent on reaching out and out all the time. It wants to talk globalization, worldwide issues, worldwide religion … and I feel myself more and more thinking in smaller, more local terms.
And more to the point, I find myself thinking of how I can get along without depending on the mass-produced culture. Can I (or my family or my town or my church) produce culture — music, art, performance — rather than buy what others have produced? Can I grow my own food? Can I get by with less technology? Can I barter for goods or make my own clothes or concoct simple home remedies (remember the echinacea?) ? Without quite knowing why, I found myself looking into making my own soap, keeping a few chickens, bottling homemade root beer, keeping a beehive.
It’s not about a survivalist scenario. It’s … well, I don’t know what it is. There’s something about the times we’re in right now that seem like they bode a change, and I find that I’m responding sort of without thinking.
And the part I think is interesting is that I think others are, too. I lost track of a couple blogs I read by Orthodox and non-Orthodox women about the need to start “getting ready” (for lack of a better phrase), but here’s a typical one about the need to create a deeper pantry.
Why? I don’t actually try to answer that one. I don’t think grocery stores will close. I suppose I don’t want to worry about whether they will or not. And I find I don’t want to be beholden to a culture that seems so maddeningly intent on going in the wrong direction. It’s nothing new for pop culture to lead away from Christian culture — it IS new for the guardians of the world’s culture to seem insistent that I be complicit in the madness. I just want to know I’ve got options, that’s all.
I don’t like to argue, and I don’t like to feel like I’m withdrawing or walking away from a fight that needs to be won. But I do start to feel like it’s getting to be time to go inside.
Update: Happened across this post by Rod Dreher, featuring Peggy Noonan’s remarks on the same sort of common feelings. His advice: start learning to garden.
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Growing up in hurricane country i learned long ago about keeping food stores (and water, long before you could buy those little bottles!) Then in the late 60’s early 70’s there were the Foxfire books and bartering. Here we go again!
Life is so much easier for us in the 21st century than it was stocking in the 50’s. But when you stock, you need to remember that if you loose power for some reason (wind, ice storm, transfer station blows, etc.) everything you packed in that deep freeze has a shelf life and must be eaten!
For emergency rations, think cans an the new “pouches”. Get chicken as well as tuna in cans. You can make a nice meal with rice and 6 oz of chicken. I’ve done it many times. If you go camping, think about the foods you take for a long trip when you can’t resupply ice easily and you’ll be on the right track (except you needn’t worry as much about weight!)
I can’t stand to listen to the news anymore. I feel guilty, like I should be an informed citizen. This is so passive to just sit by. But I cannot think anything I do will make a difference, so I have “gone inside.”
My sister had a friend in Florida who used to periodically “fast” from all news. No TV news, no papers, no radio for a week. I find myself wanting to do the same, but I really can’t get away living just outside of Washington, DC.
The mailman has become my friend again. Especially with all the red envelopes I am mailing to the White House. That’s about my only foray into the world (other than the church, library, grocery store, doctor, daughter. I live in a very small world! It is basicly a straight line 8 miles long — and that in the DC area!)
I don’t have a good yard, but have been thinking about taking up container gardening.
That’s exactly the type of thing I’m talking about. I’m trying to work my way into a little gardening this year. I don’t know how I’ll do, but I figure it never hurts to just jump in.
Deepening the pantry may be difficult for Greg and I, because we’re both such picky eaters and have gotten used to making last-minute decisions about dinner. But it’s another thing I want to start making some moves on. We live in tornado country, and I always meant to be a little better prepared.
Nice story =) Will definitely come back again