Extraction from society's control web.

I will keep this short and simple. We can most definitely agree on one thing, society is in turmoil. Things are falling apart left and right and we're all left to contemplate and discuss while we seek a suitable solution to this generalized mess.

Being a member of society has its perks but has a lot of inconveniences as well. We are offered luxuries which in turn have to be balanced with a lot of personal sacrifices. Why does it have to be that way?

I'm not into the whole 2012 thing nor am I interested in predictions but I do think that a path is laid out right in front of us all. I remember watching a documentary on the History channel about 2012 (can't remember the name though) in which they showed carvings in stone from Sumerian times where you had people presented with two separate paths. One was up and 'looked' better, the other one was on ground floor and looked more simple. This, supposedly, is somehow related to 2012.

Now, I do think that we will be presented with a path of similar fashion. Either we bow to the New World Order (level up but really not that much improvement), or we simply extract ourselves from society, go back to our roots and become self-sufficient (ground level). At first glance, it looks like an unimaginable task to extract from society but I beg to differ.

What do we need to live a good, healthy and happy life? Well, first… family and friends. Without social support, most of us would already pass away. You also need shelter, food and water, medical care, clothing, education and perhaps some hobbies. What you don't really need are money, a cellphone, a computer, a car, a gps, a tv, a job and much more. Many of you will wonder how you can survive on no money and no job? Pretty easy if you think about self-sufficiency. If you have shelter outside any controlled society, can grow your own food, have access to clean water supply, know your way around most common aches and health problems, can knit your own clothes, have access to books and are able and willing to educate yourself or others 'old style', which means without the use of the internet or the computer… you should be able to function without needing any money, any government, any job or a cellphone or computer or any of those luxuries.

Isn't this a step back? Well, think about it. What good does money bring? You can buy stuff that you most often don't need and can go places you otherwise wouldn't be able to visit. What bad does money bring? Dependency, greed, lust. How about cellphones? You can call, text, e-mail anyone at any time. But what about the brain tumor you'll be left with in 40 years from using that device? Don't forget that for every positive thing a new gadget offers, one if not two inconveniences outweigh it.

All this to say that we've become so stuck in our ways that the best possibility to really get out of this mess is to unplug and become smarter about how we live. Think about the pro's and con's of things we say we need and things we really need. The best way to go about this change? Spend a weekend or two in the woods, make sure you know the ins and outs of the area( in case of emergency) and try a survival weekend. Maybe it will help you realize what you can get rid off in your everyday life, prepare for a real survival experience if and when the time comes and really understand what fundamental change is all about.

Think about it, extraction could become the new inception…

Great post.
I agree with you fully,i recently gave up my mobile phone.Basically just sick of people ringing me all the time for nothing of great importance at any time they wish.
Not contributing anymore to a brain tumor!

reply to post by pipconvert


Man there is nothing more I would like than to be self sufficient, you know living off tha' fat o' da' land "of mice & men" type thing. The problem there is here- HOW to extract one's self, and one's family from society. By living in the 21st century we have since lost our great ancestral skills & knowledge of outdoor survival. I don't know if it'd be as easy as you'd think. I've been hiking out in the wilderness, my brother and I, with only the clothes and food in our packs for a week. It was hella fun, being in nature, but it was hella rough too. We damn near froze to death one night because we couldn't get a fire going. And then I made a simple lean-to that only served to block the freezing wind, but the cold was still unbearable.

What I do know, is that I am utterly sick and disgusted with our society, especially America. Every day I think to myself as I'm sitting at my computer, i really don't feel like I was created to sit behind a computer desk all day, or go to a 'gym' to work out, or a 'grocery store' to get my food. Nothing feels right.

Now living in nature- that feels right. I feel like I belong there. (And NO I'm not a damn hippie).

Originally posted by freedish
reply to post by pipconvert

 

Man there is nothing more I would like than to be self sufficient, you know living off tha' fat o' da' land "of mice & men" type thing. The problem there is here- HOW to extract one's self, and one's family from society. By living in the 21st century we have since lost our great ancestral skills & knowledge of outdoor survival. I don't know if it'd be as easy as you'd think. I've been hiking out in the wilderness, my brother and I, with only the clothes and food in our packs for a week. It was hella fun, being in nature, but it was hella rough too. We damn near froze to death one night because we couldn't get a fire going. And then I made a simple lean-to that only served to block the freezing wind, but the cold was still unbearable.

What I do know, is that I am utterly sick and disgusted with our society, especially America. Every day I think to myself as I'm sitting at my computer, i really don't feel like I was created to sit behind a computer desk all day, or go to a 'gym' to work out, or a 'grocery store' to get my food. Nothing feels right.

Now living in nature- that feels right. I feel like I belong there. (And NO I'm not a damn hippie).

edit on 5-12-2010 by freedish because: (no reason given)

Hi Freedish,

Thanks for replying. I have a feeling that you're contradicting yourself a bit. You say that living in nature is hella fun but hella rough as well and you feel that something is amiss in your current lifestyle, that your current (work,gym,extra curricular activities,sleep) routine doesn't sit right but nature does feel right.

So you're basically saying that you would be living in nature if it wasn't that tough. It's up to you to try and make it the least tough possible.

I never said it would be easy to unplug, but, once you get to realize that you don't HAVE to live the way society tells you to and that you could actually be way happier (mentally and phisically) living the nature way, that idea/concept would grow like wildfire in the infested society and more and more people would start unplugging at that point.

Just my two cents :-)

Thanks again!

Thanks for the OP.

Getting away from the controls of the 'civilized' world andf becoming self-sufficient is a goal many (including myself) want to achieve.

The biggest problem is the place to do it.
All land is now either privately owned or govt owned.
for example, I am in Australia:
Private land, if you are lucky enough to buy an ideal spot will not entirely free you.
- you will have rates and taxes to pay - for roads, water use (even if you have a dam or river/creek).
- so you would need cash to pay these annual fees.
- building codes. you cant just live in a tent on your own land.
Govt (Crown) Land. This pretty much covers every bit that is not sold to a private homeowner.
we have many deserts and national parks.
these have many laws and restrictions on visiting them, hiking and camping in them. that means you cant just drop a log cabin in the park and live out your life.

The only totally free option here would be to hike into the deepest parts of a national park/forest, find a cave, and basically 'hide out'. growing vegetables etc could be done by not clearing areas but growing them spread around sunlit patches.
Other than that, it would be buying the land, and selling excess produce to pay the land taxes etc, which is still worth the effort.

reply to post by pipconvert


Thanks for clarifying my post, it was indeed a bit contradictory.

Any idea on how to 'unplug' with the least amount of collateral damage?
Also I don't know if any of my family would come along with me...it would be a bitlonely out there all by myself haha.