I HAVE COME TO THE CONCLUSION that the most important aspect of resilience is health, and it should go without saying that fitness is a component of health. Think about this, water weighs 8.34 pounds per gallon, so a five gallon bucket or jug of water weighs almost 42 pounds. That’s a single day’s requirement for my family. How far could I carry that if I needed to transport it back to the house on foot? What about ten gallons? I’ll list some other ways that fitness leads to resilience and independence:

• Recover faster from physical labor
• Self defense
• Lessen dependence on sick care system – saves money, less need for meds
• Hike farther and faster if you break down somewhere
• Better chance at getting out of a burning house or building, or surviving a tornado or earthquake
• Body can endure injury better

Another thing about health is, the road to good health where nutrition is concerned is not found in the things we have been educated on for our entire lives. Just like everything else fed to us (ha! Get it??) by our gubment, there has been a money trail behind the information being disseminated.

My wife and I watched “Fat Head” over the weekend and it was yet another “aha” moment. I don’t think I mentioned it, but a couple of weeks ago I re-evaluated what I thought I knew about nutrition based on several things I have been reading and a couple of interviews that I heard. I came to the conclusion that we were not designed to eat so much grain (which is basically grass), but to eat the animals that eat the grass. I initially heard it from the Paleo diet perspective, but I am not going Paleo. Then I heard more about it from the Primal Blueprint perspective, which is more in line with my thinking than Paleo, but I am still not sold completely on it either. I am convinced, however, that certain fat is healthy for us and we are starving our bodies and brains without it, while other “healthy” fats are not. Corn oil was not even used for human consumption at the beginning of the 1900s, it was used for making paint!

After watching “Fat Head” on Sunday, I understand a bit more about the benefits of fat, particularly saturated fat. For instance, coconut oil is loaded with MCTs which feed the brain. So yesterday I bought some to use for frying and to put it in my coffee instead of cream. It is different, but I could get used to it. It is a good substitute for cream as it removes the bitterness of the coffee like cream does, but I still like some sweetness in my coffee, so I’ll need to figure that part out.

Since I have started restricting grain products, my insulin requirements have fallen significantly. I am still concerned with the amount of meat I take in though. Without grain based products, that pretty much leaves meat, fat, fruit and veggies. Most fat (which is now going to be my primary source of energy) has tied to protein, and I still think Dr Kelley (who cured himself of Pancreatic cancer) made some good points about our bodies response to an overload of protein. He said that our pancreas produces hormones and enzymes to deal with the food we eat, one is insulin which is for dealing with glucose (all carbs break down into glucose) and the other is an enzyme called pancreatin which breaks down protein. Pancreatin also breaks down cells that try to become cancerous so they can be removed them from the body. When we overload our body with too much protein, we don’t produce enough of the pancreatin to deal with mutating cells. So I am looking for snacks that aren’t loaded with protein but are more exciting and filling than veggies. Bring on the fat!

What I Did Yesterday to get Closer To My Goal:

• Worked on resume, updated format. [resilience: getting closer to being ready if something in my current income situation changes. Liberty: getting closer to a job that pays more with less time/possibly work from home and more control over how I spend
  my time]
• Replaced hose in backyard so my “soaker hose solution” will work. [Less time watering, more consistent watering so my tree and garden don’t die.]
• Watered and turned compost bin [Improve soil quality and sustainability]
• Bought coconut oil to Improve health

ABOUT MY PURPOSE. I can’t just focus on cash flow and freedom from the corporate structure, because what good is that when some kind of event could very likely occur that would disrupt the other systems I am so dependent upon? http://www.timesofisrael.com/iaf-plans-for-iran-attack/ It’s stuff like this that makes me realize I need to be working on prepping for self sufficiency and independence from ALL the systems as much as I need to be working toward Liberty for the purpose of making my own decisions and living life the way I see fit. It’s not just threats from abroad either. Take a look at what those who decide what is best for us are up to:
http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20120412/NEWS01/120419797/nrc-reveals-radioactive-water-spill-at-limerick-nuke-plant&pager=full_story

I really don’t intend to make this blog overtly political, since I am keenly aware that it is pointless in a single party system, even If we can’t tell whether that party is the Demopublicans or the Republicrats. I want to spend my time talking about things of which I actually have a choice. So back on topic, I have to make progress in my life that will get me closer to independence in multiple areas at once, which make the process considerably slower.

With that in mind, I bought a 5 gallon Home Depot bucket with a lid and spent about $5 on a 5lb bag of sugar, a 5lb bag of flour, and a bag of organic oats (don’t remember the weight on that one). Stuck that stuff in the bucket, threw in some moisture absorbing packs from some empty vitamin bottles, sealed it up and put it in the coolest part of my garage. I also spent some time (about an hour) over the weekend working on my resume. Baby steps, that’s what this blog is all about (because that’s all I can afford).

I got my tax return and sent it immediately to pay off a credit card last week, and this week I called the credit card company and cancelled that bad boy! I am done with debt serfdom. The urge to spend tax returns on non-essentials because “I deserve it” can be pretty strong, so I just sent it as soon as I got it. There’ll be time for frivolous spending once I am free. The concept of Suburban Resilience is to be resilient; this means being able to take care of yourself so you can be free. It means being your own person and making your own decisions. That is a lasting enjoyment, whereas a new flat screen tv while I am still in debt just perpetuates the cycle.

I had a coworker suggest that they would probably pay off the card but keep the account open to help their credit rating, and as a “just in case” fallback. I must admit, I thought of that too. But all debt is cancer, and resilience means being independent from the corporate banking credit system as well. By cancelling the card I have forced my own hand, I now have one less crutch to lean on instead of achieving my goal. As for my credit rating (which isn’t very good anyway), you really only need good credit for two things: buying a home, or for business start-up costs. I am currently buying the home I live in, so why don’t I just focus on that. And if I do decide I need to buy a different house, maybe I should have enough money to use as a down payment that my credit rating doesn’t really matter. Otherwise I need to ask myself the question, “can I really afford it, or am I again becoming dependent on something that is bad for me?”

It feels good to be making progress on the road toward liberty!