The Dark Side of Survivalism

I've posted a few times before about trying to stay positive as we enter the End Times. I recently came across a lengthy article at the Survival Acres blog that touched on this issue, as well as others. Although I don't necessarily agree with everything in the post, this, I believe, addresses an important issue:

Here’s what I REALLY want to lay out for you all — Survivalism, if embraced to the degree that many are heavily promoting, will lead you down a one-way street of despair. If this has not yet happened to you, be glad. I personally know of thousands that it has happened to — because I helped them get there. And I witnessed first-hand what others did.

...Extreme survivalism can lead to a need to constantly engage and participate in endless fear-mongering to feed the hungry demons created within. You can see this in the comments on many website, how “prepared” some of these people claim to be, or ready to “do battle” with the ungodly. Their lives are miserable fearful caricatures of what they could be living. There is a lot of postings from these same people, over and over again, demanding “attention” and seeking justification and validation of their world-views from others online. They’re easy to pick out because they blabber so much.

The truth of the matter is that prepping is supposed to bring peace of mind. You know what I mean...if the power goes out for a few hours, or even a few days, no big deal; if the furnace breaks down and its three days until a repairman can stop by, well, you aren't going to freeze to death because you have alternative ways of heating your home; if you lose your job, you have food and other essentials to carry you through and perhaps supplement what you might get in your unemployment check, until you find employment or get a business up and running.

To be honest, one of the things I like the best about having food storage is NOT having that last minute trip to the store because we ran out of ketchup, or whatever--just open up the pantry and grab another one.

I think one of the ways to keep from falling into the negative trap described above is the gardening aspect of prepping. Planting a garden, whether it is a large garden plot or a small selection of potted plants on your patio or window ledge, focuses you on nurturing and growing something, exposes you to a bit of sunshine and air. And, of course, keep focused on the important parts of your life--your family and friends.