PP #17: An altercation, a wild Friday, afterlife redux...
Project: Pioneer #17, February 11, 2024 (Sunday 11am)
Happy Super Bowl Sunday! As you’ll read below, it’s been a rough few weeks, so we’re going to relax all day in the White House (no, not that one), enjoy the festivities, maybe take a walk around the lake, and attempt to do a fondue without burning down the house and setting off all the alarms built into this modern covered wagon.
Project: Pioneer is the live reality journal of a couple and their small dog as they leave their ‘normal’ life in a luxury apartment for a new semi-off grid life in a small recreational vehicle, just at the start of winter. We cover prepping, politics, spirituality, afterlife, RV life, and personal finance. (Audio at this link, Apple, and Spotify)
In this journal post:
Our current status and updates
A recent altercation
Some de-stressing level setting activities
Border update
Follow-up on afterlife, apocalypse, Buddhism, spirituality
Current Status/Updates
Red House is gone, I stood on the centerline and watched her go off to start another life with a new family. We’ll always love her and we wish her well. Hey now, in a few days it will be Valentines Day and we’ll get to prove wrong those of you who said we wouldn’t make it that far :-) Also, we got a very nice area rug at Costco for a great sale price, and it’s wonderfully warm and plush under our winter toes.
Word is out that Mark Zuckerberg is building a big survival bunker at his compound in Hawaii. He did make $29 billion in one day, before lunch, last week, so, it was pocket change that was probably annoying him. Like when you have too many quarters, amirite? Elon Musk has a bunker as well, along with his space ships to whisk him off to a fresh new planet when his billionaire class is done destroying this one with their greed. What can you do? See my post on prepping and survival. Wait till these folks find out no matter how much they make, they are really nothing in the cosmos, just a tiny stitch in the fabric of this world and what comes after (see below), and there will be a big price to pay for their greed. They will be judged. And, like all of us, they will be forgotten forever after two generations pass, if we have two generations left. The fame they corrupted themselves over evaporated to dust in the sands of time.
An Altercation
Not all is flowers and unicorns, however. It can’t be with this kind of lifestyle, but we’re doing it to prepare for what is likely to come—much harder times for everyone.
Last week I pulled up in Henrik the truck, and a neighbor charged up to me in his flannel hunting cap and camo jacket, flapping his wings, shouting and spitting mad. You know the one. Old guy who sits, observing, bored, and lonely, best years far behind, perhaps dwelling on what could have been but never was, watching for any slight violation of the rules, a playful child’s ball rolling onto his lawn, ready to leap into action and correct these egregious perceived transgressions.
He was upset about what he interpreted as a vehicular breach of turf—the pass-through in front of the laundromat building. Most everyone uses it as a shortcut and to get some traction heading out as it’s a covered, paved area. As well to pull through when doing laundry. Including this old guy and his family members! So, we started doing it as well, rather than drive around the back of that building in the gravel, on the edge of the woods.
My new demeanor was put to the test as he stood screaming, in my face. I repeatedly asked him to calm down and discuss, eventually succeeding. We worked it out as to why it was upsetting him. He was flustered when I asked why he and others could do so but it upset him when we (the new kids on the block) did so as well. I analyzed his state of mind carefully and assessed there is some mental health issue, and at that point just told him we’d drive around, other than when it was snowy, icy, or otherwise slippery. He went off mumbling to himself, perhaps disappointed I didn’t engage in a leveling rage that in another time in my life, would have resulted in us rolling around in the gravel and dirt. I felt really good about myself, which never happened when I took the earlier approach. This place can have a tribal, Lord of the Flies vibe, though. It will get interesting in a few months, when the drunken vacation camper crowd starts to flood in. Also, a new RV appeared today in the slot on the other side of the cranky guy, and one on the side of our other neighbor. Uh oh.
We’re all surrounded by people who need mental health help. It’s a silent, worsening crisis. COVID amplified it from a PTSD perspective, and that bug is lingering in people’s organs, including their brains. We’re about the worst advanced country for healthcare in general, but especially for mental health. We are now way down at #47 of developed countries in life expectancy (79 years old!). What a disgrace. This is what happens when a good part of the population goes all Dark Ages and rejects science and medicine. We just stick the mentally ill in prisons, or let them rot on our streets and under our bridges, or let them buy military assault weapons, where one of them statistically will show up sooner or later in a school, workplace, church, movie theater, or other place you and your loved ones frequent. This isn’t an RV lifestyle thing—we saw it in both the high-priced luxury apartment complex we just left, and the very nice neighborhood we previously owned a home in before that. We’ve seen it everywhere we’ve lived.
And hey, we admit we’re a little crazy too. We’re those nutty people you see still wearing masks in crowded indoor places (but hey, no COVID bug eating away silently at our brains, we’ve never had it, we haven’t been sick at all in years).
Which brings us to Friday. I always look forward to Friday, even in semi-retirement. What ensued for us wasn’t exactly a good start to the weekend. The day before I had spilled some water and stepped in it. I took my socks off and draped them over the shredder, the closest available item since I was seated at my workstation. The shredder is under the table so a bit hidden from sight. Along came that hard-working girl Ms Giavana, with some confidential work documents to shred, and…you guessed it. Shredded sock du jour. That involved quite some time of tedious shredder de-jamming, resulting in little bits of paper and sock flying around like snowflakes, covering me and little Pia, who likes to lay on my lap to ensure I stay productive in my work.
Then baby Pia started to act strangely. The nurse in Giavana sprung to action and suggested I roll up the new rug. I busied myself preparing the doggie medication we keep on hand, as her breed is susceptible to frequent urinary tract infections. She requires frequent trips outside while this is affecting her, so we were in and out with her, hoping the medication would kick in quickly. We needed groceries, so we took her, and yeah, she barfed all over the inside of Henrik. Things settled down a little after a while, and we went to back to work. That’s when we heard the retching, and before we could act, the poor baby, covered in sock and paper shreds, had emptied the contents of her stomach, morning breakfast, bile, medication, onto the nice new rug, in several places. Yeah, I hadn’t gotten to that task yet. It was a really stressful day. Learn how we coped with all this below!
A Destressing Level Set
After that stressful encounter last week, we decided to take a mental health day on Sunday. We went to our favorite local coffee-house style venue for a matinee show featuring two amazing national touring acoustic musicians. As we bought tickets late, we were seated in the church pews toward the rear. But, as we’re members, the staff escorted us to a table right up front after someone canceled. We pregamed (not the kind I used to do…) in the Irish pub across the street with delicious Shepherd’s Pie and dessert. The show started with what they described as a “happy apocalypse song” called “It Was a Good Life,” and ended with a beautiful, emotional rendering of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Along with What a Wonderful World, one of the best songs ever.
The other thing that brightened our mood was the incredible Grammys comeback performance of Tracy Chapman with her beautiful, gut-wrenching song Fast Car. Read the lyrics, what a story, what an ending. Watch the performance below. Here was a small, black, feminist gay woman performing her anthem, which was covered by a burly white country star. Luke Combs said it had been one of his favorite songs since childhood, and while he performed it with her on that stage, he looked at her in reverence. The audience was moved to tears. It’s a song most of us who have struggled can relate to. More on that point later in this journal post.
So that was last week. How did we cope with the stressful Friday activities of this week? After Pia’s meds had kicked in and she was more comfortable, we bundled her up and we all went to a local upscale land and sea restaurant for some (very expensive) comfort food. Giavana had been craving lobster, and those cravings were bleeding into me as well. We indulged. Giavana, who isn’t a frequent drinker by any means, ordered the flight of sangrias. We had an incredible meal and all three of us came home to pass out very, very early. That’s the thing with living way below your means, not being surrounded by tons of unused square footage, paying taxes and insurance on it, not surrounded by decades of meaningless, neglected crap. If we feel like going out for lobster, we go. If we feel like buying great tickets to Stevie Nicks this summer, we do it without a thought (and we did). Experience living, not “things.” Read Kiss Your Money Hello (and Financial Stress Goodbye) to put yourself on that happy financial path.
On the Border
In other news, the text of the new immigration bill, negotiated for months between the Republicans and Democrats, is out! It’s the entire wish-list of the conservative right, with nothing the Democrats have been asking for (amnesty for Dreamers, etc). It allows the border to be shut down now, which the President said he’d do immediately. But, a disinformation campaign immediately followed, with lies about letting in 5,000 per day, because Trump ordered his sheep to not allow it to pass, since (per his own words) it would make Biden look good. I guess this isn’t the crisis they said it was, right? They fooled ya again! Did those murderous, raping caravans you were promised ever show up? Or was it a bunch of women carrying their children (not fentanyl) on their backs? Are you feeling duped yet? You should be angry. It is a problem and we shouldn’t waste one more day fixing it, just for one man’s ego. And yes, a few of them hit a cop, and their butts are now in jail, where they belong. These people commit almost zero crime. If they did, as you did, you’d hear about it.
Afterlife Redux
In my last journal post, I delivered the long-promised discussion of spirituality, Buddhism, and the afterlife. It provoked some responses! And a bit of soul-searching on my part. Obviously, I get too worked up about politics and other “this world” issues (see above). Given what I discussed, none of that really matters in this very brief evolutionary stage of our spirits. I need to keep reminding myself of that, but I do care about all of you, and it relates to our experience and comfort while we’re here for this tiny moment in time (and perhaps several times over).
My buddy Alex called me out a bit. He’s a highly intelligent, inquisitive type, and he’s not totally on board after his own lifetime of thinking on these matters (he does believe in a brief afterlife and has had his own experiences). Here’s my slightly compressed response to him:
I hear you. I was 100% on <your> points, <and I’m> still a partial percentage on some. Been to India as well, Mumbai, Bangalore, shocking and it pissed me off and severely upset me to see the severe poverty. Malaysia too, then Abu Dhabi on the other end of the spectrum.
The stuff I read <about afterlife> was backed up pretty convincingly, it's hard to argue, however David Copperfield is pretty convincing too haha.
So, we don't know for sure. We can't know, I guess. The physics and science are pretty irrefutable too, i.e big bang, <evolution>. It's all a part of...something. Something bigger than we can know or imagine. It all fits together somehow.
I'm convinced there's something after. We understand and can now basically replicate the meat sack and parts of it. But not the consciousness, the sentience, the spirit. We have no clue there.
I found that embracing this hopefulness that this is real gives me more peace and less stress than my old "when you die, you die, it's over" stance. Believing that maybe those I lost will be there helps me cope with grief and depression, whether it's true or not. Believing that this is an incubator, a test, and being good will be rewarded, makes me a better person, happier, liking myself again, out of trouble haha. You remember the old me. I hate that guy.
After my post, I became aware of the below video by Rob Cimperman. It’s long, but goes into great detail on these theories, including a visit to the experiences, writings, and prophesies of people like Edgar Cayce, who I had read on quite a bit in my younger days. It’s fascinating. If you watch this, make sure to follow up with Part II (a separate video).
<edited on 2/15/2024 to change link to a version with better production, per the documentary creator>
The point is, like Buddhism teaches, be good, be selfless, be generous and kind. Lead a simple, happy life. If you were suddenly granted the ability to revisit and reexperience one period of your life, which would you choose? For most, it’s probably not the year you made the most money, or bought that fancy car to show off to your friends, family, and neighbors. It would probably be waaay back, maybe when you were young, poor, and struggling like the couple in Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car song discussed above. Maybe it would be during your simple, fun childhood, when your family perhaps didn’t have much, and vacations consisted of a wonderful week at a broken down beach shack, or in a campground by a lake, not an incredibly complicated, stressful trip to some corporate fake wonderland.
All souls were created in the beginning, all spirit of one spirit, Spirit of God, that spirit manifest in flesh, that spirit manifest in all creation, whether of earthly forces or Universal forces, all spirit being one spirit.
— Edgar Cayce reading 900-70
Then, the more important, the most important experience of this or any individual entity is to first know what is the ideal — spiritually.
— Edgar Cayce reading 357-13
Then, just being kind, just being patient, just showing love for thy fellow man; that is the manner in which an individual works at becoming aware of the consciousness or the Christ Spirit.
— Edgar Cayce Reading 272-9
I believe our spirits are here in this incubator to evolve and refine, until we get it right, good enough to pass on to the perfect next phase that exists. That’s what reincarnation is all about. If you find yourself treating or judging people differently because they’re different than you, you may find yourself coming back as a gay person, or minority, or immigrant, to gain that perspective. Think about that next time you judge someone, hate on someone, abuse or kill an innocent animal, or cheat on or abuse your spouse or partner.
You can see these phases of spiritual evolution around you. Examine people carefully. Cayce said that we exist here in such raw form, and he was right. But, at the top you find the best of us—Mother Teresa, Dalai Lama. Christ was sent here to show in human form what we should be shooting for, to teach us. Then you see those who are close, but still imperfect, with things to work on, like Martin Luther King and John F Kennedy (good men, other than lust corrupting them and causing them to hurt the people they love). At the bottom, the worst of us—hateful, racist, greedy, selfish. Have a look at the Jan 6 insurrection footage for examples. And that’s not just picking on the ignorant, naïve, and uneducated, although those are the primary targets of con men like Trump (he even said so). There were plenty of professionals in that crowd (more leaning to the greed side of the equation). You don’t have to be perfect like Christ, or close like Mother Teresa. Do your best. Be good, be kind.
You see it in politics today. This November we have a simple choice between good and evil. On one side, a man who has only exuded empathy for people like you and I, who has never cheated on his late wife or current one, who attends church every Sunday, so clean over his forty-year political career he got made fun of relentlessly. He took the long train ride home every day to be with his family, rather than participate in the DC Sodom and Gomorrah of drunken sex parties with lobbyists and bribery. On the other side, a man who is a walking embodiment of the seven deadly sins, who only ever screwed over everyone in his orbit, and would do so to you and your loved ones in a New York minute. Choose wisely.
What’s next? I get my ascending aortic aneurysm (aka ticking time bomb) checked in a week or so. Hopefully it’s stable, because I’m on the brink of needing open heart surgery to fix that little balloon just north of my ticker. As I write this, Giavana is watching youtube videos to learn how to cut my long hippie hair after lunch. Other than that, we’re hoping things stay mild weather-wise and we can settle down to some non-chaotic boring times (good luck). Super Bowl? Go Taylor Swift! Please share this post on your socials!
21 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
— Revelation 21, King James Version
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