Security. What Does It Mean To You?

 Security. We know the word. It is defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as follows:

security

noun

se·​cu·​ri·​ty si-ˈkyu̇r-ə-tē  

-ˈkyər-

pluralsecurities

Synonyms of security

1

: the quality or state of being secure: such as

a

: freedom from danger : SAFETY

b

: freedom from fear or anxiety

c

: freedom from the prospect of being laid off

job security

2

a

: something given, deposited, or pledged to make certain the fulfillment of an obligation

b

: SURETY

3

: an instrument of investment in the form of a document (such as a stock certificate or bond) providing evidence of its ownership

4

a

: something that secures : PROTECTION

b(1)

: measures taken to guard against espionage or sabotage, crime, attack, or escape

(2)

: an organization or department whose task is security

5

: the state of being able to reliably afford or access what is needed to meet one's basic needs

But, what does it mean to you? Have you really taken a look at your life and decided what it means to have security? What kind of security are you seeking?

As I age, I find myself aligning with most every definition listed above. I have decided that I haven't secured my future well enough and definition number 5 is of the greatest concern to me, followed backwards numerically in importance. We (I will refer to this word as my husband and I for now) are absolutely not secure in any way. We are drowning in insecurity right now; financially and basic needs/food security. I feel that this is due to a number of reasons, some of which I cannot control, most I can and should be at this very moment.

I have made this decision to become more secure in all aspects, but have frankly been lazy and stood in my own way. I have legitimate reasons for having those insecurities, but I also have no good reason for being lazy about finding workarounds to attain those security goals. It all comes down to being proactive, reactive or inactive; I have made far more use of the last two throughout my life. I have made so many excuses for why I can't reach my goals and never really found a way to make them attainable via another path. 

The revelations come to us usually in the midst of a crisis or stressful situation that has put us into a reactive mode because we've procrastinated. Being in a constant reactive mode eventually causes depression because when we never attain the full benefit of a positive outcome, we end up exhausted and then become inactive until another crisis and start the cycle all over again. There is no security to be had.

Example: I have known for years that we are food insecure. I try to do things like buy extra when I can, grow as much as possible in my garden, raise chickens for eggs. But, I plan out a very large garden and go overboard on buying seeds for said garden, get seeds started germinating and growing, ready the massive garden for planting seedlings, get them in the ground; then disaster strikes. I have weather issues, physical health issues; life. I cannot physically keep up with the weeding and nurturing. Harvests are meager at best due to lack of sufficient input from me, and even then I don't get it processed and preserved, thusly becoming fodder for my compost pile. This creates more food insecurity and financially, living on a very fixed income, becomes yet another round of crisis mode, leading to depression, inactivity and procrastination, and ultimately reactive mode again. See? I've recognized the cycle, right? 

Why, then, do we not fix our own cycle? Why do we continue to follow these crazy patterns and run around like a hamster on a wheel? How are we ever going to gain security in anything we do in life if we don't break that cycle, get off that hamster wheel and find some sort of workaround that actually benefits us? The answer, my friends, lies within. We need to learn how to gain control of our minds, get out of our comfort zones to seek our own truths and abilities, and to just find a way to be proactive; to improvise, adapt and overcome.

I have recently started to really assess our homestead and our businesses. It is my goal to get our businesses profitable within two years and this homestead abundantly productive by next year. This creates more financial and food security in the end. The first steps that I'm taking is to clear out the clutter that is in my mind and home and reclaim productive zones again. I'm reorganizing my seeds, resetting my front porch growing room, as well as my crafting/sewing/all purpose office.

I do believe that to gain our personally defined security starts with getting rid of the clutter and excess and get organized. This includes our minds, so we can see our patterns of behavior. All of that excess prohibits productivity and effectiveness in our overall objective, so clearing the clutter is necessary. We can all be successful in this endeavor by searching from within and just starting.

Blessings to all. Live from the Earth. Play in the dirt.