Tipping Points and Getting Back to Basics

Small Scale Life

In this 218th Episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, I talk about Tipping Points and Getting Back to Basics.

Welcome to March. In case you have been hiding under a rock: banks are crashing. War is brewing across the globe. Businesses are laying people off. We are talking about invading Mexico to eliminate cartels.

Have we been transported to 2008?

No, it’s 2023, and the news from the day trigger long repressed feelings of despair, anxiousness and anger from 2008. How could we go down this path AGAIN? Greed. Easy money. Low interest rates. Lack of honest regulation. These are the factors that got us to today.

I have to tell you: the bank closures and bank runs remind me so much of the Lehman Brothers collapse of 2008. It made me pause as it reminded me of the anger, despair and hopelessness of the time. Fortunately, this time is different. I recognized 2008 for what it was: a major life changing event that forever changed my mindset and direction of my life. That collapse set me on a course to where we are today: our jobs, our home in Western Wisconsin and even how I grow vegetables in my garden. Events in 2008 changed me forever, but there have been a lot of Tipping Points along the way. There isn’t just a “one and done.”

Change is constant, and life keeps changing. As I took about it, there have been a number of Tipping Points since 2008:

• 2008 – Recession and Crash of US Housing Market
• 2009 – Death of my Grandmother
• 2012 – Leaving Illinois and the private sector
• 2014 – Danny in Afghanistan
• 2015 – Operation Bring Danny Home
• 2017 – Flight of the Hummingbird
• 2020 – Destruction and violence in Minneapolis
• 2021 – COVID
• 2022 – Almost losing Ryan and losing Danny
• 2023 – Banking collapse

As you can see, there have been a number of Tipping Points along the way. It isn’t just ONE EVENT; there are multiple. You tack and adjust as these Tipping Points occur. Ideally, you emerge stronger and wiser from these events. But I can tell you from experience….you get physical, emotional and spiritual battle scars along the way. It’s hard. Life can be hard.

I don’t have all the answers. I don’t know everything. I might be wrong. But I keep learning, doing, growing and trying to be a little better everyday. Life is hard, and it’s time to settle down, get back to basics and build our immediate tribe. There is no other fancy solution; it’s time to get really intentional and really deliberate. Let’s grow some together.

By the way….the cover image for this podcast and video is a replica of Laura Ingall’s house in the Little House in the Big Woods. It is about 5 miles from Driftless Oaks Farm, and somehow…..somehow…..we are hear, close to this place after hearing about Ma and Pa Ingalls in 2008.

We are here for a reason; I am podcasting for a reason. We’ll find it together.

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Special Thanks

For Small Scale Life Podcasts, I would like to thank Sean at Osi and the Jupiter for the intro song "Harvest." Sean wrote this specifically for us, and I really enjoy all of his work. You can find more Osi and the Jupiter at their Bandcamp site: https://osifolk.bandcamp.com/

I would also like to thank Austin Quinn at Vlog Vibes for the intro and outro music. For more information abut Austin and Vlog Vibes, please see the Vlog Vibes YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCY80LeqtJf-YBzJy2TWKpDw

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