Why it is Important to Stay Informed and PrepareOp-ed By Jeff Fitchett Seeing the world clearly through an unfiltered lens changes a person. Once you travel down the rabbit hole there is no turning back. Simply checking out is no longer an option. For me and other people I know who are like minded; learning about the real world has allowed us to see life from a different perspective. I will speak for myself and let it be known that I went through a grieving process when I learned that nothing was as it seems. I was astounded to learn that money is debt, that central banks are owned by private banks and that the wealth of the average person was being transferred to powerful corporations and individuals. I have always felt that government corruption was a problem, but not to the extent to which it is. I am thankful that my eyes were opened back in 2008 as the financial crisis was erupting. Think tanks and organizations like the IMF, World Bank, Council on Foreign Relations, Neo-Conservative groups, Military Industrial/Security Complex, Bilderberg Group, Rothchilds, Rockefellers and many others effectively control our societal path and dictate policies that enrich the elites at the detriment of everyone else. They control us because we have given them the power to do so. I often hear people preaching that an armed revolt is needed or some collective mobilization is required to change the world. I dont agree with this stance. The only thing that you can control is your own actions. Collective thinking will just result in more of the same. Sociopaths and psychopaths have a tendency to rise to the top of any organization. The beauty is, once you understand what is going on in our world, life becomes a bit clearer. Personally, I now work towards a simpler more resilient life. Im happier now than ever before. It is rewarding to take life into my hands and hop off the treadmill that is the daily grind. I find it helpful to see what is coming down the road and make changes in my life that will insulate me from some of the carnage that our unsustainable economic model is bringing our way. I understand that our financial system is basically one big pyramid scheme held together by central bank money printing, low interest rates and confidence. Traditional investments are ticking time bombs. Our food system is one disruption away from disaster. Government spending entitlement benefits are not sustainable much longer. Our health care systems are underfunded and are unable to keep up with the increasing demand. Our consumer culture is in decline as we have reached the limits of debt. The natural world cannot support the growing global population. On so many levels the systems we rely on are collapsing. With that said, there is so much opportunity for an individual to thrive. A different mindset is required and it deviates significantly from the American Dream. The old model of: go to school, get a job, buy a car, get married, buy a starter home, have a family, buy a bigger home, take vacations at all inclusive resorts, save for retirement and then one day retire and live off your savings is all but an illusion now. We need to embrace an economic model of un-growth. It is ridiculous when you step back and look at the world wide web of distribution systems that globalization has created to feed our consumer culture. We desperately need to downsize our way of life to local economies that do not rely on extreme resource extraction levels that are not sustainable. Urban sprawl and modern houses are extremely energy inefficient and poorly built when compared to houses built 100 years ago. I really dont need to harp on the silliness that our Western consumer culture has become because it is painfully obvious to anyone who takes a step back and looks at it. We have all seen videos of the Black Friday mobs piling into department stores fighting their way towards the must have iGadget. I love the journey Im taking to become more resilient. I used to work on the 14th floor of a glass building in downtown Hamilton, Ontario. I sat in traffic like the thousands of other people making their way to work each day. I had a fairly big house, big mortgage, big property taxes and big utility bills. I was stressed and I did not particularly like my daily life. Now, I work from home in a small farming town, live in a modest size house, have a smaller mortgage, have chickens, honey bees and a massive vegetable garden in my backyard. My expenses are less and are slowly dropping. Bit by bit Im paying off my personal debts. Its fulfilling for me. I keep learning new skills such as preserving foods and making things from scratch. My life has become much more sustainable than when I lived and worked in the city. We all have different paths to take. I encourage you to find yours. I get emails from International Living Magazine and I love reading the stories about people, with hardly any money, living abroad and living their dream. Most of all, when the shit hits the fan I am already prepared mentally to deal with the hardships that will follow. I now have the skills and tools to adjust to a system that is no longer functioning. Truth be told, I look forward to an economic collapse and to a world that is simpler. Jeff Fitchett writes for Trivium Analytics Canada. Sounds great! Good for you! I will check out the magazine you mentioned. 