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What does it mean to be ‘RESILIENT’?

Well, the meaning of resilience (technically speaking) is the ability to recover when faced with difficulty or disruption. Recovery is defined as a return to a normal state of health, mind, and strength.

This last year (2020) was a pretty wild experience for all of us! Our world faced a Pandemic and people were panicking and buying up all the toilet paper. (Why did none of the zombie apocalypse movies mention toilet paper?!) Some shelves at the grocery stores were completely emptied.

One year ago, we started looking around us to find ways that we could build more resilience in our life. The Pandemic brought it home that we needed to start thinking beyond our needs for the next day or even beyond the next week.

Enduring the hardships, one after the other, in 2020 sure wasn’t easy but, somehow, we have emerged in 2021 stronger, smarter and healthier.

We have a new way of relating to this world where things aren’t as certain as they once seemed to be. Supply chains aren’t always so dependable. How are you going to wipe your ass if there’s no toilet paper?

These (and many other) challenges we have had to face (individually and collectively) have delivered us new insights about how we can be more prepared in the future.

Understanding and building resilience is key to moving forward in the best way possible for ourselves and our communities.

Psychologists talk about Mental Resilience in reference to learning how to respond intelligently even while disturbed or distressed.

As it turns out, developing a sense of humor is very good for Mental Resilience.

There’s Physical Resilience which is our ability to endure physical challenges. This includes our ability to fight off disease and heal from injuries.

Then, there’s Resource Resilience which has to do with meeting basic needs for food and shelter and (apparently, toilet paper).

Here are the three things we’ve done to increase our resilience that you can do too:

#1 Support your Local Food Web

One of the best things that we can do to build resilience in our communities is to support the local economy by buying as much as we can from our bioregion. Find out what is produced in your area and support your local farmers.

We are lucky because here in Oregon a lot of really great food is produced and there are tons of awesome farmers to support.

Last year, we went to the Saturday Market downtown and picked up a variety of lettuce starts, brought them home, transplanted them into bigger pots, and enjoyed tasty greens for weeks! It was super easy!

Another easy thing we did was started sprouts in our windowsill in our RV. Fresh sprouts are so delicious! Here’s a fun starter kit:

This year, we are buying a CSA box from a farm that is close by.

“CSA” stands for “Community Supported Agriculture” and it is a great way to buy directly from farmers in your bioregion and strengthen your local food web! Search your zip code and find a farmer near you on Local Harvest.

Supporting your local farmers is a win-win; less packaging materials and a lot less pollution due to transportation.

#2 Go Solar!

It’s easier than you think. You don’t have to immediately provide all of your energy needs with Solar. You can start with something small to learn how the whole thing works.

If you have an RV, like us, then you have house batteries that can be used to store energy from the sun by simply adding solar panels. We use the Renogy Solar Suitcase and we love it!

Check the blog we wrote about hooking our Renogy Solar Suitcase up to our RV battery bank here.

If you are a Renter, there are lots of really great solar power generators currently available that can do a lot for you. They are plug and play and ready to go.

Pictured below is a super slick set up, The Bluetti, with solar panels to charge it:

If you are a homeowner, there are new programs widely available to help you get solar installed, sometimes with $0 down! Check out this awesome resource guide to find out what is available in your state.

#3 Do The Inventory

Look around you and take stock of what you already have on hand, especially things you would need in an emergency situation.

Things like a flashlight and batteries, or a camping stove and fuel for it. Make a master list and then put these things in a bin and label it.

Include an emergency food stash with enough food and water to last at least two days. A week is better.

Do this, it is so worth it. Just having your emergency kit ready will bring you an immense feeling of relief.

Then, clean up and get organized. This way, it’s easier to find things when you need them.

Sort out what you don’t use and donate to local shelters. There are lots of folks these days that have fallen on hard times. Helping out in our communities can be as simple as donating our unused items.

A little bit goes a long way.

We are all on our way to a brighter future already.