MP3: https://planetarystatusreport.com/mp3/20230819_100_FEET_UP.mp3
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I’m sitting here at Sequim Bay park, at a bench, at a site that me and my brother got for the night. Last night we slept, as “Boondockers”, in the Walmart parking lot – today, we can spend some time peacefully in the woods, as peacefully as I am capable right now.
I want to tell you that I am “bravely facing” every challenge with the knowledge that God, as he has so many travelers, is looking out for me … which He is. But the thing about God? – His plan is bigger than our little plans, and sometimes our lives are upended because the Lord’s idea of what “should be” is in conflict with our basic needs and that simply is WHAT IS. So we go with God’s plan and we improvise our own plans, as need be, to surf the reality of the divine. I’m not much of a surfer.
I have commented, many times in my podcasts, that some people, perhaps most of the “solid middle class folk”, are flying at 100,000 feet – but if I’ve learned anything on this crooked journey thus far it is this: I am still 100 feet off the ground, plenty of distance to break my next, to die.
Throughout human history there have been good and bad times, easy and hard. Some people seem to have it easy no matter the epoch – but there are some epochs of human existence that can only be described as brutish, violent, dark and difficult. The levels of difficulty, as with most things, varies; sometimes the difficulty is about economics, sometimes it is a natural catastrophe, and at times it is all of the above. I feel, as you know, that “all of the above” is what is on the menu. Does that mean give up? – no. But we should be aware that at any time, good or bad, our lives are short and we cannot know the date or time that the Lord will take us home.
Take this forest that surrounds me: it has green and growth and life still. Many places are burning and many species are at risk right now – not because of your car or your cheese burger, but because nature is in charge, which means GOD is in CHARGE!
Trees and forests are beautiful, and they, too, do not last.
There are those who will say: “I saved up, I have a nice home worth much money, I am set”. But NOTHING that mankind builds lasts – nothing.
Banks become insolvent …
Investments become frauds …
And homes burn to the ground, while insurance companies go bankrupt or deny support: this is happening RIGHT NOW. It might not be happening to you, yet, but don’t pretend that any degree of “dollar cost averaging” protects you.
However …
We should still live dignified lives, seek after joy and creative work. We should work together, voluntarily, in freedom, in order to solve the problems we face. And, along with this, WE MUST BE WILLING TO TELL and LISTEN TO the TRUTH.
We live in an age of deception, and perhaps the biggest obstacle we face is man made: so many liars and grifters, so many DESIRING to be lied to. I am not perfect my friends, but you can rest assured I have no interest in lying to YOU.
So I will make some notes for a podcast, and I will try to do it, from the woods, assuming some person doesn’t attack me.
I will try to be happy, even though in ideal circumstances, like the last 2.5 years in Utah, I wasn’t always happy – Utah, and the friends I lived with, was the closest I came to acceptance and peace in my entire life. Yes – Jesus brings peace, and also: it is good to have that earthly peace that comes with living, being, around people who can live and let live. People who can deal with each other from a place of respect. That time is over, hopefully briefly, one never knows.
So here it is, my brief notes for a brief podcast – probably.
I will let God take the driver’s seat, and I will attempt to be a strong copilot.
Yours,
Daniel
P.S. – if you hear noises in the podcast, this is just humans, and other creatures.
Outline:
- Thai food while boondocking.
- Pack stuff right.
- Don’t be surprised if you picked a good time to start smoking cigarettes again.
- Don’t be surprised that many hate pot heads.
- Don’t let the evil ones break you down – if you are homeless, temporarily or longer term, try not to be discouraged.
- People will stare at you.
- Your smart device is dumb.