I had a dream last night that troubled me. The symbolic nature of it is clear to me now. It may not apply to anyone else, but I know it applies to me and my family.
My family and I had traveled (in the dream) to a popular vacation spot. Initially the days were pleasant. We had unpacked our many belongings and were enjoying the crystal blue skies and lush vegetation.
After some time, though, we began to notice things that felt odd. At certain times of day, people staying in the same resort seemed to take on a nervousness and reluctance to go outside. I began watching, feeling an oddness myself. There was a distinct feeling of danger in the air, but nothing I could pinpoint.
Finally I asked. The answer seemed ludicrous at first. "Because of the dinosaurs," came the reply.
"Dinosaurs!" I wanted to exclaim. But nobody seemed to think it odd that dinosaurs were once again roaming the earth. In fact, the people around us, although uneasy, seemed intent on nurturing relationships with the unpredictable animals.
I began to see periodic glimpses of the dangerous creatures through the windows. I could stand the danger no longer and was quite puzzled why the others seemed not bothered by associating with such creatures. Periodically an individual would be eaten by the beasts, a T-rex or another sort, and again, no-one seemed to take much notice.
Not me! I took notice!
In the dream, I began in a fluster to try to pack us up. But we had brought so many things, we had so many material goods, that it was taking me better than a day to try to cram everything back into the suitcases. My shaking hands didn't help, nor did the roaming nature of my younger kids--continually curious at what was going on outside our resort room.
Just before nearly finishing with my packing and feeling so frustrated that no-one else seemed to sense the urgency of the situation, a young teenage girl strolled into my room. She had a bottle in her hand and appeared to be drunk. Eventually the bottle spilled onto the coverlet of the hotel bed. Now I was going to have to clean that too before leaving! And instead of being wine, she had been drinking shampoo with small amounts of alcohol in it.
Suddenly I realized the significance of the dream and woke up.
I realized that in many ways those dinosaurs and the acceptance of them as "fun" (and worthy of relationship building) symbolized today's society. People around us seem intent on accepting that which is really dangerous. And if someone falls "prey" to society's "dinosaurs" (symbolically sharp-teethed and clawed), people noncholantly shrug and continue on their way, as if nothing has happened.
Here is a link to an excellent example of one of society's roaming "T-Rex's", sharp-teethed and clawed, roaming to destroy...yet so many walk near and pretend not to notice.
Upon awaking, I also understood the significance of the young girl drinking alcohol-laced shampoo. The situation had seem so irretractable--she had been in so much despair at the difficulty of fleeing the resort without getting eaten up by the dinosaurs--she'd given in and was trying to die by drinking the shampoo.
~~~
Although this dream was only significant perhaps for me and no-one else--awaking I knew there was significance in it for me (I'm often taught this way through the spirit...perhaps it's because I'm so terribly right brained!)--the importance of the message is universal. We can go through life "asleep at the wheel", paying no heed to society's conditions and/or situations. Or we can pay attention and prepare for that which is to come.
I prefer to do the second.
In the dream, I'd brought so much junk with me that I was not able to flee quickly. This has taught me to re-evaluate that which is important.
In the dream, I'd initially had been slow to define the danger. I'd sensed it but downplayed it just like everyone else. Society's influence had been a bit too potent. Society's opinion had held too much sway. This has taught me to ignore the pundants on TV, the "experts", the strong-opinioned. Instead, my hand is in the Lord's and on my scriptures.
In the dream, the young girl drinking the shampoo symbolized those about me who may despair as world conditions deepen in intensity. Those of us who have scriptural assurance of how to proceed need to help those whose hearts are failing them.
The signs of the times may be subtle if a person is not willing to see them, but for those who want to be ready when Christ comes, the hue and outline of the signs of the times will become brighter, clearer, and more urgent as we are willing to see and act upon them.
Let's GET PREPARED NOW.
Monday, February 05, 2007
Tip: Floor Plan
There are many different kinds of emergencies. And no family will experience all. Yet I have known individuals whose homes have burned to the ground. I have known individuals who have been lost in the woods. Etc., etc. I'm sure you know individuals who have had a variety of setbacks or sudden emergencies.
Since we don't know what we might encounter in this life, preparing calmly will help bring peace if and when a tough situation sets in.
One of the fun things a family can do is to practice drawings maps of their house. Do this for a family night and make it fun. Let the kids practice their map making skills and then color and decorate their maps. Display them on the fridge, etc.
But behind the fun, there is a theory. That which we draw out will stay in our mind, even when under great duress.
You might be surprised how stress can stymie a mind. For example, a woman who worked for the Red Cross for 17 years teaching emergency preparedness forgot the number 911 when she discovered her own home was on fire. She'd taught this number for 17 years!
Thus, if your family woke up in the middle of the night to a raging house fire, it might not be surprising to find a family member stymied by the fear and completely forgetting where the exits are to the home. But picturing in their MIND the map they'd drawn previously in a fun activity potentially could help see them through to safety.
Tip: For this week's family night together, draw maps of the home with safe escapes (at least two different ones).
Since we don't know what we might encounter in this life, preparing calmly will help bring peace if and when a tough situation sets in.
One of the fun things a family can do is to practice drawings maps of their house. Do this for a family night and make it fun. Let the kids practice their map making skills and then color and decorate their maps. Display them on the fridge, etc.
But behind the fun, there is a theory. That which we draw out will stay in our mind, even when under great duress.
You might be surprised how stress can stymie a mind. For example, a woman who worked for the Red Cross for 17 years teaching emergency preparedness forgot the number 911 when she discovered her own home was on fire. She'd taught this number for 17 years!
Thus, if your family woke up in the middle of the night to a raging house fire, it might not be surprising to find a family member stymied by the fear and completely forgetting where the exits are to the home. But picturing in their MIND the map they'd drawn previously in a fun activity potentially could help see them through to safety.
Tip: For this week's family night together, draw maps of the home with safe escapes (at least two different ones).
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Quote: President J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
“First, and above and beyond everything else, let us live righteously. …
“Let us avoid debt as we would avoid a plague; where we are now in debt, let us get out of debt; if not today, then tomorrow.
“Let us straitly and strictly live within our incomes, and save a little.
“Let every head of every household see to it that he has on hand enough food and clothing, and, where possible, fuel also, for at least a year ahead. You of small means put your money in foodstuffs and wearing apparel, not in stocks and bonds; you of large means will think you know how to care for yourselves, but I may venture to suggest that you do not speculate. Let every head of every household aim to own his own home, free from mortgage. Let every man who has a garden spot, garden it; every man who owns a farm, farm it.” (President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., in Conference Report, Apr. 1937, p. 26.)
“Let us avoid debt as we would avoid a plague; where we are now in debt, let us get out of debt; if not today, then tomorrow.
“Let us straitly and strictly live within our incomes, and save a little.
“Let every head of every household see to it that he has on hand enough food and clothing, and, where possible, fuel also, for at least a year ahead. You of small means put your money in foodstuffs and wearing apparel, not in stocks and bonds; you of large means will think you know how to care for yourselves, but I may venture to suggest that you do not speculate. Let every head of every household aim to own his own home, free from mortgage. Let every man who has a garden spot, garden it; every man who owns a farm, farm it.” (President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., in Conference Report, Apr. 1937, p. 26.)
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Tip: Out of State Contact
Yeah, I know. It's hard to figure out an emergency plan when you don't know a specific scenario.
But here are the basics. Everyone in your family needs to have memorized or on their possession an out of state contact. That way, when things have calmed down after a disaster such as Hurricane Katrina, even if the family gets separated, each person has the out of state phone number memorized. When they get to a phone eventually, they can call that person. Just think how many separated families in the Katrina disaster could have benefited by having an out of state contact!
Tip: Each family member memorize the phone number for an out-of-state contact. Practice this number at least weekly, writing it down and saying it (especially for the smaller children when possible).
But here are the basics. Everyone in your family needs to have memorized or on their possession an out of state contact. That way, when things have calmed down after a disaster such as Hurricane Katrina, even if the family gets separated, each person has the out of state phone number memorized. When they get to a phone eventually, they can call that person. Just think how many separated families in the Katrina disaster could have benefited by having an out of state contact!
Tip: Each family member memorize the phone number for an out-of-state contact. Practice this number at least weekly, writing it down and saying it (especially for the smaller children when possible).
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Quote: President Ezra Taft Benson
President Benson said:
"Food production is just one part of the repeated emphasis that you store a provision of food which will last for at least a year wherever it is legally permissible to do so. The Church has not told you what foods should be stored. This decision is left up to individual members. However, some excellent suggestions are available in the booklet produced by the Church entitled “Essentials of Home Production & Storage” (stock no. PGWE1125; 35¢ each). There are also booklets available on gardening from BYU.
"From the standpoint of food production, storage, handling, and the Lord’s counsel, wheat should have high priority. 'There is more salvation and security in wheat,' said Orson Hyde years ago, 'than in all the political schemes of the world' (in Journal of Discourses, 2:207). Water, of course, is essential. Other basics could include honey or sugar, legumes, milk products or substitutes, and salt or its equivalent. The revelation to produce and store food may be as essential to our temporal welfare today as boarding the ark was to the people in the days of Noah. (emphasis added) (Ezra Taft Benson, “Prepare for the Days of Tribulation,” Ensign, Nov. 1980, 32)
"Food production is just one part of the repeated emphasis that you store a provision of food which will last for at least a year wherever it is legally permissible to do so. The Church has not told you what foods should be stored. This decision is left up to individual members. However, some excellent suggestions are available in the booklet produced by the Church entitled “Essentials of Home Production & Storage” (stock no. PGWE1125; 35¢ each). There are also booklets available on gardening from BYU.
"From the standpoint of food production, storage, handling, and the Lord’s counsel, wheat should have high priority. 'There is more salvation and security in wheat,' said Orson Hyde years ago, 'than in all the political schemes of the world' (in Journal of Discourses, 2:207). Water, of course, is essential. Other basics could include honey or sugar, legumes, milk products or substitutes, and salt or its equivalent. The revelation to produce and store food may be as essential to our temporal welfare today as boarding the ark was to the people in the days of Noah. (emphasis added) (Ezra Taft Benson, “Prepare for the Days of Tribulation,” Ensign, Nov. 1980, 32)
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Tip: Verify Schools' Policies
If you have children, do you know what their school's policy is for emergencies?
Tip: Call your childrens' schools today and ask what their emergency preparedness policy is. Each district may vary and it will influence your family's plan.
Tip: Call your childrens' schools today and ask what their emergency preparedness policy is. Each district may vary and it will influence your family's plan.
Sunday, January 14, 2007
It Horrified Me
I had a dream the other night. It horrified me. In the dream, my family and I were living in a different home in a comfortable neighborhood, complete with trees and beautiful greenery. Everything was serene...or was it?
One day (in the dream) I woke up to find that there were now two holes by the couch in my family room. Each were about the size of a car tire. To my horror, the holes exposed a gap in the flooring into a wide chasm in the earth below, extending for over a mile in a huge, vacuous space below my house. Most unsettling, yet I didn't know what to do about it, other than cover them up.
In my dream, my youngest child was even younger -- thus about only 2 years old. Continually I was fussing about trying to cover those holes, so he wouldn't notice them. I didn't want him to fall through and in the dream, I didn't know I had any other options to get rid of the holes. We just had to live with them...or so I thought.
Then one morning, a neighbor ran screaming to our front door. "A huge hole has just opened up outside your home!" They screamed this at about the same time I noticed it myself. In fact, these yawning holes were beginning to happen all over the countryside. In front of our house, there was not just one hole, but two terrifying ones. The first had already torn apart the grass, gulping it down into another mile or two deeply enormous chasm in the earth. The other hole was just now tearing apart the grass and sinking fast, just feet away from the foundation of my home.
In the dream, I had time only to grab my child and run. Yet it bothered me terribly that I didn't have anything ready to take with us. I had in the dream (just like in my real life) begun to get things together in a 72 hour emergency kit, but hadn't ever finished. And now it was too late.
We were running and scrambling to escape. Last minute, not being able to stand it any longer and my family in safety, I ran back into the house against everyone's recommendations and tried to scoop up things that were important to take with us. This obviously put me in great danger, because now portions of the house were being swallowed up in the gargantuan-sized sinkhole. In the middle of all that foolishness, I woke up.
I couldn't shake the significance of the dream. I had BEGUN emergency preparations some time back, but I had not ever taken the time to finish. Now I will. And I'd love to take you along for the ride. The government recommends that we all have 72 hour kits, in addition to the ability to live for 2 weeks off of what we have rather than relying on someone else to take care of us during emergencies. We need to get prepared now.
Churches are also beginning to take note of the conditions around us. I, for example, belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a church that for some time has advised its members to be self-sufficient. I now intend to take that admonishment quite seriously. And I figured that as I make my journey towards complete self-sufficiency, I'd share my adventures with you, in the hopes that it will help you do the same. We need to get prepared now!
There's something quite powerful about being able to sleep at night, knowing that everything you can do has been done. May we all experience that, in spite of the crazy, topsy, turvey world we currently live in! We need to get prepared now. :0)
I aim to help you and me and all those in my midst do just that.
Warmly,
C.S. Bezas
One day (in the dream) I woke up to find that there were now two holes by the couch in my family room. Each were about the size of a car tire. To my horror, the holes exposed a gap in the flooring into a wide chasm in the earth below, extending for over a mile in a huge, vacuous space below my house. Most unsettling, yet I didn't know what to do about it, other than cover them up.
In my dream, my youngest child was even younger -- thus about only 2 years old. Continually I was fussing about trying to cover those holes, so he wouldn't notice them. I didn't want him to fall through and in the dream, I didn't know I had any other options to get rid of the holes. We just had to live with them...or so I thought.
Then one morning, a neighbor ran screaming to our front door. "A huge hole has just opened up outside your home!" They screamed this at about the same time I noticed it myself. In fact, these yawning holes were beginning to happen all over the countryside. In front of our house, there was not just one hole, but two terrifying ones. The first had already torn apart the grass, gulping it down into another mile or two deeply enormous chasm in the earth. The other hole was just now tearing apart the grass and sinking fast, just feet away from the foundation of my home.
In the dream, I had time only to grab my child and run. Yet it bothered me terribly that I didn't have anything ready to take with us. I had in the dream (just like in my real life) begun to get things together in a 72 hour emergency kit, but hadn't ever finished. And now it was too late.
We were running and scrambling to escape. Last minute, not being able to stand it any longer and my family in safety, I ran back into the house against everyone's recommendations and tried to scoop up things that were important to take with us. This obviously put me in great danger, because now portions of the house were being swallowed up in the gargantuan-sized sinkhole. In the middle of all that foolishness, I woke up.
I couldn't shake the significance of the dream. I had BEGUN emergency preparations some time back, but I had not ever taken the time to finish. Now I will. And I'd love to take you along for the ride. The government recommends that we all have 72 hour kits, in addition to the ability to live for 2 weeks off of what we have rather than relying on someone else to take care of us during emergencies. We need to get prepared now.
Churches are also beginning to take note of the conditions around us. I, for example, belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a church that for some time has advised its members to be self-sufficient. I now intend to take that admonishment quite seriously. And I figured that as I make my journey towards complete self-sufficiency, I'd share my adventures with you, in the hopes that it will help you do the same. We need to get prepared now!
There's something quite powerful about being able to sleep at night, knowing that everything you can do has been done. May we all experience that, in spite of the crazy, topsy, turvey world we currently live in! We need to get prepared now. :0)
I aim to help you and me and all those in my midst do just that.
Warmly,
C.S. Bezas
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
