FOCUS, by American Yeoman

⁶ You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. ⁷ Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ All these are the beginning of birth pains.  Matthew 24, 6-8.

I have often been told that I am a better Christian on Sunday than I am on Tuesday, some of the Pastors’ teaching having been forgotten by then. But it is also true that even the Devil may quote Scripture for his purpose so read and mark Matthews words, notice the bold section in particular.

Lately, the news cycle has been filled with nothing but stories of war in Ukraine- bio labs, nuclear weapons and power plants, thermobaric weapons, dead children and refugees….. You cannot go on the internet, watch Tv or visit your favorite hobbyist website without being bombarded with the images and stories of war and calamity….. Without reading or being subjected to all manner of information that may or may not be true- and which you in reality have little ability to personally verify if you are honest with yourself. If that were not enough, your daily commute and grocery shopping trips provide ample reminder that all is not right with the world.

Who fucking cares? Not me. There is not one damn thing in my life made better by worrying and obsessing about things I cannot control. Do not misunderstand me. I certainly believe we all need to understand the Second and Third Order affects of the many happenings in the world. That’s what makes us Survivalists- seeing, understanding, planning, doing what others are oblivious to in order to preserve ourselves, our families and our way of life. But none of that is possible spending hour upon hour consuming rumors of war.

I’ve been a Survivalist my entire life and am slightly past mid life now. I have seen crisis and calamities of all kinds- wars, terrorist attacks, fuel and energy shortages, hurricanes, tsunamis, volcanoes erupting, ice melting, nuclear disasters, rogue computers that threatened all the vital systems of modern life, pandemics and plagues…and yet, life goes on- even after I was often convinced the world might end. I long ago adopted the philosophy of The German intellectual Johann Goethe, “Let everyone sweep in front of his own door, and the whole world will be clean.”

Now is the time to focus even harder on what you can do, what you NEED to do. Will reading the seventh article about the drama of Poland sending Migs to Ukraine improve my HAM radio Skills? Will it close the deal that pays the bills at my office next month? Will my spouse and children feel closer to me as a result? No.

It’s spring. Plant a garden. Do preventative maintenance on your vehicles. Work on your physical fitness and skills development. Remodel that room into a home gym, armory, work space or storage pantry. Do whatever you need to do, but do it. Channel your time and energy into things that matter, in your life, and the lives of those around you. Turn off the TV, put down the Tablet, and tune out of the madness. Focus.

Get right with God. Get your mind right about what you need to do and what you believe. Harden your friends, family and community. Focus.

“You will hear or wars and rumors or wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed.”