How to Survive a Depression
Authors note: this is a reprint from an earlier version of my blog. Although much in this article has changed for us, the sentiment remains – and – I got that bike. Enjoy.
Putting up and getting by.
I have been thinking a great deal about recession, or Depression, great or not – lately. I am a hobby economist and read two years ago that difficult financial times were coming. (Even Pete Seeger sang about this in his 1997 Grammy-winning album Pete.) Did I put money aside for the coming tough times? Well no, I didn’t plan that as well as I could have and much to the consternation of my ever-frugal spouse, spent more than I should have. I’m not worried, however. We do have something in the bank, and that is bankable skill.
What do I mean by bankable skill? I mean that we can fix nearly every problem that comes our way with what we have on hand, by collaborating with our members of our community or using free public resources with little cash involved. Is it always convenient? No, not always. I’ve learned, however, that convenience comes with a sticker price. We can also work to solve other’s problems if cash gets tight - and it often does.
Bankable skill is our creative economy. We live, at no cost to us, in the top floor of a gorgeous Victorian building that is also a Quaker Meeting. We are the caretakers and handle the building maintenance and scheduling. (I am also the webmaster.) We buy much of our pantry in bulk wholesale from a restaurant supplier, our produce is the left-overs from a C.S.A. drop-off at the Meeting that is canned and frozen, and our household items are few or homemade. We work for a discount at the food co-op. We rarely use the car. What we need in the occasional clothing or entertainments comes out of extra income or Kurt’s part-time job. Is it ideal? Not really. We would like to build a mortgage-free home on our land and to travel. I would love a new bicycle. Even if our AGI is not exactly what we would prefer, it is a very doable life, a very creative life, and certainly within the reach of anyone who is comfortable living outside of the norm.
But this isn’t why I’m thinking about our creative economy and recession. Recently I read two pieces on the internet, one a story from our local paper about a family struggling with a wage cut and Merlin Mann’s observations on 43 folders. Merlin writes, and seems to answer the couple interviewed in the story,.
It’s a wildly disarming question*, especially when you don’t know it’s coming. Because it makes you realize how much you may view life as a slog toward a tomorrow that’s pretty much identical to today and yesterday and the week before. And, certainly, there’s nothing wrong with security, dependability, and providing continuity to yourself and your family. It’s what adults need.
But, as most of us discover — especially at the beginning of that blood-curdling recession — security is an illusion. It’s a heuristic we draw from observing the coincidence of things not going badly for a while at a stretch. And, that’s great. While it lasts. But, it’s definitely an illusion.
Breaking away from this illusion seems to be key, or perhaps the key to thriving in the creative life. The couple in the story have plenty of resources (or at least stuff) to get them through this difficult time. If approached with imagination and information they may even find that a simpler lifestyle will improve the quality of their lives so much that when remembering this horrible and unfair event, they might be embarrassed at their financial Sturm and drang. But, I don’t have the impression that this is a possible outcome for them. The article reflected an oh woe is me attitude that I find among frustrated artists or entrepreneurs who envy my life. The creative life is not possible for them because of a) they, unlike me, need money b) they, unlike me, need insurance (read security), c) they need status, or d) they just don’t know where to begin and do not have the energy to start anywhere. Isn’t this unfair?
No. It’s perfectly fair.
What are you creating? When will you create it? Create it now. If faced with the opportunity to throw off the mantle of the security illusion, do it. Develop bankable skill. Simplify. Broaden your concept of economy to include all energies and resources. You may find that the recession is the rocket fuel that will blow the inertia of illusion. And that, dear reader, is valuable. You can bank on it.
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* The question:
If, tomorrow morning, you had 60% of the time and resources you needed to start making anything you wanted, what would it be? And, what would you do first?
