Living like a coyote

[VictorBravo]

A close friend, a bachelor sheep rancher who is a member of our church, warned me about falling into the habit of living like a coyote. This was his observation about himself, living in the hills with sheep and few humanising influences.

He was sort of right. Since I've become single after my wife's passing, living on the edge of the prairie, I see a bit of coyote lifestyle creeping in. I sleep on a simple pad with a wool blanket. I make coffee in a simple pot. At least the demands of having prayer meeting at my house keep me on top of sweeping and cleaning.

But yes, I devolved into wanting live like a coyote.

Except, I don't think any coyote gets to eat like I do: beef back ribs slow-baked to 195 degrees, potatoes, and asparagus. My grape vines have leafed out, thornless blackberries, raspberries, plums, pears, apples all are looking eager to produce.

God has been kind to me, despite my inclinations.

 

[RamistThomist]

You're fine. Carbs turn to sugar in the bloodstream. Stick with meat and a few vegetables. Drink a V8 every now and then.

 

[davejonescue]

With technology, the world is moving to minimalism. Personally I am trying to adopt as much of it as I can. When we thank about it; there is no reason to have 50 different shirts, 50 different pants, 10 different jackets, 10 different pairs of shoes. I would much rather have 14 pairs of each; enough for two weeks, and just plain clothing. I dont need to dress odd; but I dont need to dress up. Maybe have a single suit for special occasions.

But think about it; as a single man; I dont need 1000 things when I live in a generation where 10 things can do more than the previous generations 1000 things could. Why do I need to spend $$$$ on pictures, when I can get a few cheap TV's and have a flash drive loaded with 1,000 pictures I could change at will on my wall? Why do I need endless bookshelves when I can store 1,000 books on a single Kindle? Why do I need 1,000 cd's, records, or tapes; when a single MP3 player or Ipod will hold more music than them all?

Why do I need a 5 bedroom home, when everything I could use or want fits into a single room and closet? Americas biggest goal for every baby is to make them consumers by the time they are employed. Its like Robert Duvall's THX 1138, where on his way home from work he stops and buys a cube, in a selection of similar cubes only different in color. Then, before he exits the store, he throws it away to be recycled.

There is no getting around that we will take nothing with us. There is also no getting around that we are stewards of the finances we have been blessed with. I have walked into some men's garages where you cannot even move really because there is just so much merchandise; from the floor to the ceiling.

Personally, I am trying even in my food to become a minimalist, though this should be used discretionary according to health. But do I need 3 whole plates; bacon, eggs, toast, hashbrowns for breakfast; potato soup and and sandwich for lunch, and chicken, peas, and mashed potatoes for dinner? Or could I suffice with a nutritious shake for two meals and have a single good meal?

Minimalism is the future. Not only because we no longer live in a generation the option for spaciousness and excess is viable for most; especially economically; but also because technology is minimizing the actual space needed for the same things we have previously enjoyed to date.

 

[VictorBravo]

Minimalism is the future. Not only because we no longer live in a generation the option for spaciousness and excess is viable for most; especially economically; but also because technology is minimizing the actual space needed for the same things we have previously enjoyed to date.

I appreciate the spirit of this, but while I’m sort of a minimalist at meeting my life’s essentials, I am an incorrigible collector of projects: Boats, airplanes, musical instruments, rebuilding electronics, even an antique car. Not to mention translation projects and starting a new sermon series.

But I can let any of them go at the first hint that they hinder my calling.

 

[Jerusalem Blade]

David, you say,

With technology, the world is moving to minimalism.

No doubt this is true, but, given the precariousness of the electric grid, is it wise? If said grid goes down (and many hostile players have that in their sights) all that depends on tech goes with it.

True, my many bookcases are burdensome to lug around, especially moving from the U.S. to the island country of Cyprus, back into another apartment in a major city here.

As an inveterate prepper anticipating societal collapse, I'm also a minimalist of sorts – basic survival needs. At 81 and medically frail, I seek to leave things so that my wife (12 years my younger) can survive fairly well in my absence.

The bottom line is spiritual preparation – an intimately close walk with Jesus Christ, His sustenance and His guidance. Next, the materials for the sustaining of a spiritual community – the books of a large library – very hard to obtain anywhere (price-wise), and especially here so far from Western "civilization".

My wife will be glad to disburse them – whatever she doesn't want – where needed among the saints here, particularly at the John Calvin Centre of MERF (Middle East Reformed Fellowship) in another city, where our sister church meets.

 

[Elizabeth]

A close friend, a bachelor sheep rancher who is a member of our church, warned me about falling into the habit of living like a coyote. This was his observation about himself, living in the hills with sheep and few humanising influences.

He was sort of right. Since I've become single after my wife's passing, living on the edge of the prairie, I see a bit of coyote lifestyle creeping in. I sleep on a simple pad with a wool blanket. I make coffee in a simple pot. At least the demands of having prayer meeting at my house keep me on top of sweeping and cleaning.

But yes, I devolved into wanting live like a coyote.

Except, I don't think any coyote gets to eat like I do: beef back ribs slow-baked to 195 degrees, potatoes, and asparagus. My grape vines have leafed out, thornless blackberries, raspberries, plums, pears, apples all are looking eager to produce.

God has been kind to me, despite my inclinations.

View attachment 10273

This looks so incredibly good. I wish I had a little plate of it right now.

 

[Deleted member 13126]

With technology, the world is moving to minimalism. Personally I am trying to adopt as much of it as I can. When we thank about it; there is no reason to have 50 different shirts, 50 different pants, 10 different jackets, 10 different pairs of shoes. I would much rather have 14 pairs of each; enough for two weeks, and just plain clothing. I dont need to dress odd; but I dont need to dress up. Maybe have a single suit for special occasions.

But think about it; as a single man; I dont need 1000 things when I live in a generation where 10 things can do more than the previous generations 1000 things could. Why do I need to spend $$$$ on pictures, when I can get a few cheap TV's and have a flash drive loaded with 1,000 pictures I could change at will on my wall? Why do I need endless bookshelves when I can store 1,000 books on a single Kindle? Why do I need 1,000 cd's, records, or tapes; when a single MP3 player or Ipod will hold more music than them all?

Why do I need a 5 bedroom home, when everything I could use or want fits into a single room and closet? Americas biggest goal for every baby is to make them consumers by the time they are employed. Its like Robert Duvall's THX 1138, where on his way home from work he stops and buys a cube, in a selection of similar cubes only different in color. Then, before he exits the store, he throws it away to be recycled.

There is no getting around that we will take nothing with us. There is also no getting around that we are stewards of the finances we have been blessed with. I have walked into some men's garages where you cannot even move really because there is just so much merchandise; from the floor to the ceiling.

Personally, I am trying even in my food to become a minimalist, though this should be used discretionary according to health. But do I need 3 whole plates; bacon, eggs, toast, hashbrowns for breakfast; potato soup and and sandwich for lunch, and chicken, peas, and mashed potatoes for dinner? Or could I suffice with a nutritious shake for two meals and have a single good meal?

Minimalism is the future. Not only because we no longer live in a generation the option for spaciousness and excess is viable for most; especially economically; but also because technology is minimizing the actual space needed for the same things we have previously enjoyed to date.

I, too, am an advocate for simple living and minimalism.

My wife caught the minimalism bug first, although I think I've always been inwardly prone to it. My first apartment I had a set of silverware with a plate and a bowl. There was an air mattress and a television, but no furniture. I think when we downsized to one vehicle (a van) in 2019, it helped to cement my outward embrace of minimalism. The showiness of the old man can still show up sometimes, but I think he was secure below the deck by the grace of God since then. We have a Baptist association nearby that has a warehouse of stuff where you can drop things off and we've been able to give away much of what we'd accumulated that way.

As we prepare for the move to South Carolina next month, we just had junk removal services come by and remove a TV from the wall along with some broken and unwieldy larger pieces of furniture that we didn't want to move and don't plan to replace. By the grace of God, I believe that TV will be the last one we ever give such a prominent place in our home. It had been broken for a while, but we weren't quite sure how to take it off. We had cut the cord from cable probably a decade ago, but unplugging from some of the many streaming services took longer. It became harder and harder to find anything wholesome to watch, and much of what was wholesome had 2CV's. For too long we'd sought entertainment, and from strangers at that. On the furniture front, we've tried to seek out second hand options on Nextdoor. Everything else has been sparse and from Ikea. Buying quality in the furniture department has been a challenge, but thankfully it's been one in the very back row of our minds. Too much energy spent on nest feathering can't be good for the soul.

It's a similar story with our wardrobes. The children's leggings wear out the most and need to be replaced, but everything else seems to hold up well enough. I've got one or two jackets, one or two suits, and three pairs of pants and shirts that get rotated out. It's enough to mix and match. I think the biggest enemy of minimalism in the wardrobe department at this point can be big weight fluctuations. Sometimes we box something up but hold onto it just in case. Keep it or give it away and risk having to buy it again? It's a question that comes up from time to time, and one that hoarder's probably ask themselves, too!

On the home front, in our case we bought a five bedroom home, but only because we homeschool and have four children. We look forward to downsizing when we're able, but that may be a while. Our dream is for the three girls to stay with us while they're in college and/or until they're married and the oldest is eight years old, so we've got some time. My wife is a wonderful homemaker, but managing the square footage can wear on her. We wish there were more people building in the United States as they do over in Europe, where smaller bedrooms and more efficient living space can provide a significant reduction of the square footage necessary for a family of six to get by. All of the innovations in repurposing rooms, hiding beds in walls, cabinets that descend on wires from the ceiling, etc., are interesting, but far too expensive to ever be something we could see ourselves investing in. We also respect and acknowledge that all of these are truly first world problems, and some families larger than ours live in a single room in some parts of the world.

It is deeply humbling for our family to have such privilege that we get to focus on minimalism because we have so much while others in other parts of the world have so little.

P.S. When I read and watched those kinds of things, I was a big fan of the dystopia (or negative utopia) as a genre. I read and watched just about everything I could get my hands on in that space. In many ways we're in one now. So it should come as no surprise that I loved THX-1138 back in the day. Neat film.

 

[davejonescue]

David, you say,

No doubt this is true, but, given the precariousness of the electric grid, is it wise? If said grid goes down (and many hostile players have that in their sights) all that depends on tech goes with it.

True, my many bookcases are burdensome to lug around, especially moving from the U.S. to the island country of Cyprus, back into another apartment in a major city here.

As an inveterate prepper anticipating societal collapse, I'm also a minimalist of sorts – basic survival needs. At 81 and medically frail, I seek to leave things so that my wife (12 years my younger) can survive fairly well in my absence.

The bottom line is spiritual preparation – an intimately close walk with Jesus Christ, His sustenance and His guidance. Next, the materials for the sustaining of a spiritual community – the books of a large library – very hard to obtain anywhere (price-wise), and especially here so far from Western "civilization".

My wife will be glad to disburse them – whatever she doesn't want – where needed among the saints here, particularly at the John Calvin Centre of MERF (Middle East Reformed Fellowship) in another city, where our sister church meets.

I see what you are saying, but we really have to think about the implications here compared to the subject at hand. If a terrorist were to knock out the electricity to the western world, do you really think people are going to consider it wise that they were "discerning" enough to have a hard copy of Calvins Institutes or Post-Reformation Dogmatics while the world literally collapses around them? Most people would be in survival mode, as the steady supply of food stops, as refrigeration ceases, as the production of medications, fuel, and other things stop as well. What good is a theological library if you starve to death? The Bible is the only thing sufficient in those times; and a majority of people have a HC of that.

So, theoretically it may seem wise on the surface, but digging a little deeper we can see the implications of such an attack are so far reaching, that most people would become vagabonds in search of food and water, if the problem could not be corrected; and could in no way carry their libraries with them anyway. With this in mind, I think it safe to plan on the likelihood that such an event is unrealistic, or the implications too drastic, that to consider it wise to plan for it by hoarding books, is also foolishness, because it wouldn't be a pressing issue in such a scenario.

If this happens, we wouldn't be dependent on old theological books and dead authors, but trained, living pastors who can exposit and exegete without Logos; to give the flock a life of faith using the only single book that really matters. Because even then, the gates of Hell shall not prevail against his bride.

 

[Susan777]

What good is a theological library if you starve to death? Perhaps most people would become vagabonds in search of food and water as you suggest but most who have prepared for what’s on the horizon will not. If and when I am confronted with this scenario I would be greatly comforted by my small selection of cherished books, perhaps a dozen, my hymnal and of course my Bible. As for the availability of trained living pastors, if such existed at that time I doubt if I would have access to them at all if the internet were not functioning. And there are none in my neighborhood.

 

[Miss Marple]

Hard copies of good theology, not to mention the Bible, are good ideas for those times when governments decide to shut down or filter your internet service or what you can access from "the cloud."

I wouldn't presume on godly government to preserve our basic living needs, our theological support, or any creature comforts, at any time.

 

[retroGRAD3]

Hard copies of good theology, not to mention the Bible, are good ideas for those times when governments decide to shut down or filter your internet service or what you can access from "the cloud."

I wouldn't presume on godly government to preserve our basic living needs, our theological support, or any creature comforts, at any time.

Indeed. That's why most of my books and all of my Bibles are still the physical kind

 

[Joshua]

Lol. My brother’s coyote thread has … r-u-n-n-o-f-t.

 

[ZackF]

Lol. My brother’s coyote thread has … r-u-n-n-o-f-t.

Beep beep!

 

[davejonescue]

Everything that can be said about physical books can be said about storing digital books on a HD; not in the cloud. I have already done this with a full on Seminaries worth of courses/lectures for the very purpose that internet sites themselves are touchy; (and I have multiple copies) one can be here today, and gone tomorrow. I think it is something like 110 courses. But take for instance Monergism. They offer in a single download, all 600-800 books they have to put on a HD. Project Puritas offers in a single download over 6,600 Puritan and Non-Conformist works. Logos lets you back-up your drive; and you can bet all you have a company like Logos would create a portable reader, and a way to access all those books; even if they had to spread it "underground," before they would let our government censor us from our digital resources. The truth is, I can fit more books than fill the Library of Congress, on a single 2TB HD the size of a deck of cards; than any one person could tote in a situation where nomadic nature becomes the norm. I really don't think at this point we will ever live again on this plain, in a situation where electricity will be rare.

The technology to produce electricity; from streams, windmills, solar, and other conversion methods are "common knowledge." They already sell "vibrating" bladeless mini-wind turbines, the size of a 2 liter; that produce, I think 10,000kW a month (or less) for $500. We have to understand where we are at. Just in our pocket, we can write letters, we can record videos, we can watch movies, we can read books, we can listen to music; we can call people, and they hand them out for free to everybody who gets public assistance; that's how common technology with such capabilities is.

I don't knock people who prefer physical books (within the context of this "survival" conversation) but it does kind of remind me of an ol' timer refusing to buy a car because it may break down, but instead trusts Rusty his horse who has never let em' down yet. Are people really out there buying horses for backup, even if a majority if not most of our nations oil consumption comes from import who could withdraw exchange at any time? I dont know, it just seems odd to me, I mean I am not young, but it could just simply be a generational thing.

Anyhoot; I think if something like that were to happen, little "epicenters" of faith would develop; where populations would be concentrated and grow, and loners would migrate to. This way we could support each other; both materially and spiritually.