THE THEORY OF ANYWAY

April 17, 2011

I’m currently reading a book called “Independence Days: A Guide to Sustainable Food Storage and Preservation” by Sharon Astyk. I’ve actually just started it, I saw a review of it online and decided it might be worth a read to gear me toward the food storage I hope to achieve.

Early in the book she speaks of the “Theory of Anyway.” From what I have read it is basically the reason we should be putting food by, become debt free, and be good stewards in life in and other aspects of our daily life in general. Simply because we should.

Not due to some coming crisis, a fear of the government controlling food, the end of the world or anything else, just simply because we should. I like this thought. It rings so much of the truth above and beyond anything else I have read.

So many books, articles, late night radio talk shows, disaster movies harp at the “impending doom” and how we must be “prepared” for it. The plain and simple truth is the things these media sources tell us to do we should do anyway.

The book got me to thinking, about all the times before I’ve needed food storage and was glad I had it. Over the years my husband has only been unemployed twice and both times we had ample food stored it was not a problem. We simply ate out of the food storage and we ate well.

A third time was when my father-in-law was in his last days. During that time we had up to 30 people staying at my home for one to three weeks. Due to food storage, my master mixes on hand and the co-operation of those involved we all ate 3 square meals a day and did so without having to spend a lot of time in the hospital cafeteria.

I had planned for none of those events to occur in my life, yet they did. Putting food by, just because I should anyway, showed to be a true blessing each time. This is why I need to build my depleted food storage back up now. I do not think the world will end in May as some say, or on 12/12/12 as others say. I do see food prices escalating in the stores and that may or may not be a meter of things to come. None of these are the reason for preparation. The reason is because I should “anyway.”

Not managing our finances as well as we should have put us in a bit of a bind during this most recent bout of unemployment. If we’d previously managed our finances as we should my husband would still be “retired”. I am striving to get him back to retirement. I miss him being home.

No matter what stage of your life you are in I suggest you cease using credit immediately and become debt free, not because it is the fad thing to do, or because major inflation is headed this way. But because it is something you should do “anyway.” As I have often said before we are following the Dave Ramsey “Total Money Makeover” book plan and it is working well for us. I know of hundreds of others it has done well for too. But you need to do it for yourself not because I said, but because you need to do so “anyway.”

Helping others is another thing we should do “anyway” not just because a disaster hit, but because it is who we should be as a nation. Oh it feels good to give to the Japanese Earthquake Fund or whatever the latest disaster is, but how about the elderly person down the road who has trouble just getting a ride to the grocery store? Or the newly widowed man who has never cooked a day in his life and now has no one to cook for him.

You don’t need to do something huge to brighten their day, sometimes just stopping by to say hello is all they need. Maybe the neighbor’s child is having a horrible time with math and you are good at it. Visit the parent around homework time and drop small “hints” about the easy way to do that math problem. Charity comes in all forms and it is something you should do anyway, not just when a disaster hits.

Back to the book Independence Days, the author touches on much deeper issues as she quotes her friend who developed the “Theory of Anyway,” Pat Meadows. Me I like to think that by simply bringing it up and adding it to my blog it will perhaps get a few more people thinking about the things they should do “anyway” without me pushing any political buttons. Because after all I do not agree with all of Ms. Astyk’s political statements, but I do believe in what we should be doing anyway.

Jan who is trying to read at least one non-fiction a week in OK