Day 36 of the Apocalypse, Ground Zero, Gerton, NC pop. 231

My personality is not apocalyptic.

I don’t “worst-case-scenario” my way through life. Nor am I a glass-half-full kind of person. In fact, I generally assume things will work out for me, even during times when that seems physically or logistically impossible.

For the most part, things always do work out for me. Especially when my ego and I get out of the way. Especially when my focus is on saying YES to how God is leading me.

This is not normal behavior in our world.

But neither is “prepping,” and planning for the “inevitable end of the world.”

The Preppers are right. We can never be prepared enough for the unknown.

I’m right, too. Because at the end of the day, irregardless of what happens, what will make or break you is your attitude and your perspective.

When your home, your possessions, your land, your community, your societal infrastructure, your connection to the outside world, and the people that you love are all gone in a matter of hours, what will you have left?

What are you made of, without any of this? What is your identity, and your role, in this brave new world?

We have run out of time for you to figure this out. Things are speeding up. Those of you who are sensitive have been feeling this for years.

I am not apocalyptic. I am not a Prepper. But in the wake of Helene, I have become fiercely present. Paying attention in this way has shown me that we will continue to face more frequent natural disasters, and political and societal breakdowns in the coming years.

That is the cost of being human at this time.

Our opportunity lies in learning how to process trauma as we are going through it.

That is part of my impetus in sharing my daily posts. To give witness to my own process, with the trauma of Helene, as well as my brothers’ suicides, in real-time. To show you how others around me are coping with their own trauma.

The days of being able to spend a decade on a therapist’s couch exploring your feelings are over. We must learn how to process as we go. If I can do this, you can too.