This fortnight @naturalmedicine has asked ,"How does community help you thrive?"

Agri-Hoods

We've already gone through Week 1 and had some amazing entries. Check them out here in the comments or under the #naturalmedicine tag.

I've been pondering this question since @riverflows introduced it to the community and I want to take a different sort of approach.

Today I realized a few things as I was reading @cupidzero's article, The Billionaire Boys Survival Club, which is a reflective thought piece to Douglas Rushkoff's Medium article titled, Survival of the Richest
The wealthy are plotting to leave us behind.

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_{Here is the back story as depicted by @cupidzero:}

In his article "Survival of the Richest" can be read how he was paid to give a talk to five billionaire hedge-fund managers who wanted a Q&A session on where to ride out a cataclysmic event, how to use technology to stay in control and how, basically, to escape the consequences of the world they helped create and profited from by participating in the globalist bankster klepto-kakistocracy.

Rushkoff waxed humane and optimistic, but the unimaginably wealthy who could afford half his salary for a few hours of chat were - and apparently are - convinced a civilization-ending event of unimaginable magnitude is in the offing. I'm not sure who was more naive, Rushkoff for believing such an event can be avoided or a couple of billionaire doughboys for believing they can survive.

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In Rushkoff's article he writes about his meeting with the hedge fund elite...

Slowly but surely, however, they edged into their real topics of concern.

Which region will be less impacted by the coming climate crisis: New Zealand or Alaska? Is Google really building Ray Kurzweil a home for his brain, and will his consciousness live through the transition, or will it die and be reborn as a whole new one? Finally, the CEO of a brokerage house explained that he had nearly completed building his own underground bunker system and asked, “How do I maintain authority over my security force after the event?”

The Event. That was their euphemism for the environmental collapse, social unrest, nuclear explosion, unstoppable virus, or Mr. Robot hack that takes everything down.

This single question occupied us for the rest of the hour. They knew armed guards would be required to protect their compounds from the angry mobs. But how would they pay the guards once money was worthless? What would stop the guards from choosing their own leader? The billionaires considered using special combination locks on the food supply that only they knew. Or making guards wear disciplinary collars of some kind in return for their survival. Or maybe building robots to serve as guards and workers — if that technology could be developed in time.

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Modern Ecovillage

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Now if you've made it this far you're likely feeling appalled at the way these elite are framing their relationship with humanity. Instead of believing that they can make a difference now or at least realizing that they could recognize the humanity in other people, they have chosen to automate (through technology) the very means of their survival.

Let's talk about "the Event"

I was first clued into the possibility of a future "Event" when I took my permaculture design course. We talked about Peak Oil, Environmental Catastrophe and the Collapse of Civilization itself.

It seems humans generally have Apocalyptic notions and if you look into human history, you'll see Dooms-dayers in every generation, yet the question must be asked: Could we really be close this time? I don't need to list the reasons many of us are thinking this way. Anyone who is paying attention can connect with some of the ideas.

But this article made me realize something.

After they asked him how they could not get their guards to turn against them, Rushkoff answered:

When the hedge funders asked me the best way to maintain authority over their security forces after “the event,” I suggested that their best bet would be to treat those people really well, right now. They should be engaging with their security staffs as if they were members of their own family. And the more they can expand this ethos of inclusivity to the rest of their business practices, supply chain management, sustainability efforts, and wealth distribution, the less chance there will be of an “event” in the first place. All this technological wizardry could be applied toward less romantic but entirely more collective interests right now.

They were amused by my optimism, but they didn’t really buy it. They were not interested in how to avoid a calamity; they’re convinced we are too far gone. For all their wealth and power, they don’t believe they can affect the future. They are simply accepting the darkest of all scenarios and then bringing whatever money and technology they can employ to insulate themselves — especially if they can’t get a seat on the rocket to Mars.

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Urban Ecovillage Design

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We Survive and Thrive Together

Community helps me thrive in that we are connected to surviving together now. Let's face it, in the small rural community in which I live none of us are the hedge fund billionaires creating the underground bunkers with thousand person security systems. Not only are we not going there, none of us have the money or desire to create this type of system to begin with.

But what are we doing?

Instead we are taking the grassroots, slow and steady approach that humans have always taken:

We are strengthening our bonds, learning to see each other as ourselves and to extend helping hands when we need it. We certainly aren't perfect at this and our human vulnerabilities get in the way often. We grow food and share it, we save seeds, we store and know our water... In short, we are being Neighbors.

Community helps me thrive because I know I am surrounding myself with people who also believe that the collapse of civilization or continual environmental catastrophes could devastate our world and our economies, our roads, food supplies and our monetary systems. Where are we left with after that?

Honestly, in large part I live the life I live because of the same fear of "the event" that shakes these hedge fund CEOs to build bunkers and build security forces. I go about responding in a different way and if I were those hedge fund CEOs I would start treating my workers better now.

Truly the question is not how will I survive, it is how will WE survive and the question isn't a far off IF, it is something we need to be preparing for now.

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This reminds me of wise words from the Hopi Elder's Prophecy,

You have been telling people that this is the Eleventh Hour, now you must go back and tell the people that this is the Hour. And there are things to be considered…

Where are you living?
What are you doing?
What are your relationships?
Are you in right relation?
Where is your water?

Know your garden.
It is time to speak your truth.
Create your community.
Be good to each other.
And do not look outside yourself for your leader.

Then he clasped his hands together, smiled, and said, “This could be a good time! There is a river flowing now very fast. It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid. They will try to hold on to the shore. They will feel they are being torn apart and will suffer greatly. Know the river has its destination. The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open, and our heads above the water.

And I say, see who is in there with you and celebrate. At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally, least of all ourselves. For the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey come to a halt.

The time of the one wolf is over. Gather yourselves! Banish the word ’struggle’ from your attitude and your vocabulary. All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.

We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.

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Wausau Urban Garden: I love their mission!

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And truly, I believe this is how we thrive, we don't put our hope in the elite to save us or our world. We are the ones and we can choose to thrive now together in a shared vision of resilience or to continue playing along in their game which usually sucks our life-blood energy dry while we don't have the capacity to make a more sustainable economy that could actually not only help us survive, but thrive.

I believe the future of humanity is one of Thriving, not only surviving and not clamoring to suck the pinky toes of the elite so that we can be on their armed guard force chasing away the angry hordes of people during "the Event".

What does the Apocalypse look like to you?

I think we get to decide now what it will look like.
I shared photos of what I believe it could look like to see humanity thriving. You don't have to be into the "hippy" thing and move to a piece of land or join an income sharing community- you can actually start right where you are gaining the skills of resiliency, bartering with neighbors, getting to know your neighbor, being a good neighbor and equipping yourself for an uncertain future. Remember: we thrive together or not at all. There will be no lone wolf survivors. That's not how humanity works.

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