A culture of preparedness...

So this subject line has been on my mind for a long time (since before I left
Canada) and many different aspects of it have crossed my mind so we'll see where
this goes. I wasn't even sure if "preparedness" was a word and then I read an
article in the Canadian Mennonite that used the word "preparedness" and I
thought I'd better write my two cents.

This material certainly isn't new, it's been covered under the lenses of
future/present/past centered cultures and even materialism. But I want to
discuss it under the lens of "preparedness".

Most of the people reading this blog have grown up in a boyscout culture
where the motto "Always be prepared" is respected and valued. We see it all
around us, I remember biking in Winnipeg and the bus benches on Pembina had a
picture of a police man and the words "Have a plan" - though I was never quite
sure what I should have a plan for, which may have been the point. The Canadian
Mennonite recently featured an article about preparing for a pandemic and often
features articles about preparing for retirement or the death of a loved one,
etc. We are certainly a culture of preparedness.

Let me give some examples of what I feel preparedness looks like for us. I am
often encouraged to make sure that I have tools, oil, rope, water, etc in our
truck in case we get stuck. Our truck has two spare tires and 2 gas tanks. We
are very conscious about how much water we use because if our rain tanks run
out, then we don't know what we'd do. We would like to get some patio furniture
for when we want to sit on our porch. I would like to get a cell phone that can
do internet since currently we can only access the internet through Carla's
phone and sometimes I can't go online all day (!). I built Ben a swing and a
sandbox for when he wants to play outside.

Now some examples from Canadian culture. We put money away and pay UI for
when circumstances deteriorate. Our organizations and governments are filled
with offices and documents explaining what to do in particular situations. A
cliche example (and the one that set me on this path) is that we buy our SUV's
for when road conditions are poor. (Who remembers the SUV commercial that
justified the need for an SUV by saying that the various exceptions to good road
conditions really are quite common.) On that same note, we get the truck for
when we need to haul stuff, the cabin for when we want to get out, the boat for
when we want to get out from the cabin, the rotary car buffing thing-a-ma-bob
for when we want to buff the car. I recently heard that the lifetime total run
time of the average power drill was 8 minutes - we buy or are given that drill
for those eight minutes over the next x number of years before we forget we have
it and go buy another one.

So how does preparedness play itself out in the lives of the people here. We
often give spur of the moment rides to people, at their bequest, and drop them
off 100's of kilometers away without money, clothes, a plan or even in forming
anyone from where they came or where they ended up. But they are perfectly
comfortable doing this. People here share everything from rides on bicycles,
clothes & furniture to food and money. We would say they do this without much
planning. One recent visitor had brought 2 bottles of Peptobismal with him and
after realizing that his gut was adjusting fine he gave one away. The recipient
family used it up within a few days, again we would say, without thinking of
when they really might want some. The day to day activities of our clinic seem
to be largely dictated day to day. The only time we really seem to plan for
next week, month or year is when some outside donor organization asks us to,
otherwise it's simply dealing with the day to day.

So I don't want to criticize either culture. When my father-in-law recently
traveled across Kenya with hundreds of Kenyans, he and many of them were very
glad that he had brought a flashlight for when it got dark. When our neighbours
don't have water, they appreciate that we aren't concerned about how much water
we may or may not have 6 months from now, they need water now. When I build a
swing and a sandbox for Ben, all the neighbourhood kids are very happy to play
with them.

But a couple of things I want to point out. It struck me that our
preparedness is a huge contributor to our ecological footprint. All these
things that we buy "for when ..." are maybe not so needed. Also, I remember
reading a short article out of The Manitoban [U of M newspaper] where the auther
recalled being at the end of his rope in the Caribbean and other places and how
something just happened to work out. He even went so far as to challenge the
readers to test it for themselves; to place themselves in a situations where
they had no backup plans at all (How foolish!! we say) and to see what happens.
One challenge (sheesh, I hope this doesn't sound like a sermon!) for anybody
who reads this far is, try to analyze how much of your daily activities could be
categorized under the "for when ..." idea. Whether it's buying that drill or
preparing for the weekend. Another thought I just had this morning was that I
wonder how much this preparedness stifles us. As we were driving out 60km to a
remote dispensary, some hose started leaking fuel. Since I had brought all my
tools along I was determined to use them and was having quite a time thinking
about it. Our accountant took one look at it and simply suggested kinking the
hose and tying it. I felt a bit silly. But who knows how much more we could do
if we didn't insist on preparing for everything ahead of time and just learned
to role with the punches.

Likewise, I think the culture here is benefiting from the exposure to the
idea of "for when ..." especially as it is becoming westernized anyway. I've
read how society and culture developed here over the last millennium as a coping
mechanism for the various ecological and social crises that struck this
continent. Not that the crises are abating, but now that the world is much more
global, these problems might be better addressed with a more prepared culture.

At the end of the day, like most people, I very much appreciate my way of
thought, probably because it's been so ingrained in me. But it is healthy for
me to begin to see the advantages of looking at things from another perspective.

Thanks for reading...
Kurt