Preparing for difficult years

1. When the world we know collapses

Someday in the near future, you will wake up to a world where your phone and internet
connection no longer work. All so-called smart devices have become unusable. Electricity is out,
energy production has stopped in many places. In addition to climate change and natural
disasters, wars and pandemics are raging in the world. Everything comes crashing down suddenly
and at the same time. The result of all this is world-wide depression and famine.

The entire industrial society has collapsed, and the infrastructure is about to collapse.
World trade has stalled. Global production chains have been completely disrupted. The social and
health care system has collapsed. Waste management doesn't work. The refugee flows from the
poor south to the more prosperous north are shocking in their scale. Hundreds of millions of
people have lost their lives, and hundreds of millions have been forced to leave their homes.

The rich fortify themselves in their walled and guarded houses. The financial crisis has
destroyed the entire international financial system. You can't get your money out of the bank.
There is no cash in your wallet, and you hardly ever use it anymore. Debit and credit cards do not
work because the digital society does not work. The value of gold may have also collapsed. Barter
is now the only form of trading. Hope you find something useful to exchange.

You wonder where you will get the daily food ration. Few people can afford to be fancy
with food anymore ― we eat what we can get. Everyone's primary goal is to stay alive. Even clean
water is not a given. Nothing is. Now if ever we live one day at a time and from hand to mouth.
Factories, shops and many workplaces have had to be closed or have been destroyed. Maybe
that's where your job went too. Maybe you don't even have an apartment anymore. This is the
end of the world as you know it. You're wondering how you're going to get through this.

As a result of wars, depressions and famines, looters go on the move. It is not safe to walk
on the streets even during the day. Lawlessness and violence take over. The world is drifting into
chaos and a new barbarism. In addition to robbers, hunters also set out, and some of them are
human hunters. A terrible famine even leads to cannibalism in many places. People may be killed
or robbed just for food.

When civilization collapses, the civilization of many crumbles quickly, because it has only
been a surface layer dictated by social pressure and conventionality. It does not have a strong
foundation - it is a superficial culture, and not the so-called the culture of the heart. Species
solidarity and love of neighbor are becoming rare. Humanity has entered a time that the ancient
prophets, horrified by their visions, called the time of wrath.

2. Blessed are those who are independent of technology

In case of difficult times to come, it may be good to stock up on things like dry food, canned
food, medicine and first aid supplies, a battery-powered radio and batteries in your home or
possible refuge. The gun is also not bad for self-defense. A good knife and tools are at least worth
owning. If you live in a city, it would be good to have a refuge in the countryside, if possible.
 The less you depend on technology, the happier you will be. For the day is coming when
the technological wonderland created by man will collapse. How valuable are printed products,
books, magazines and maps, as well as paper and pens. Learn now to be without technology such
as a smartphone and internet connection if necessary. There is nothing wrong with them, they are
useful tools, but excessive dependence on technology and digitalization make society extremely
weak and vulnerable. One powerful solar storm would be enough to derail the world into chaos.

In the difficult times to come, it can be good to organize into small survival groups. Choose
as many different people as possible for it, whose character and skills complement each other.
Still, it is good for them to have some strongly unifying idea (e.g. ecological, political or religious),
so that they get along and fight loyally for a common goal. Groups need carpenters, farmers,
designers, warriors, nurses, teachers, etc. We need both practical people and thinkers, both
craftsmen and "spirit men".

The weak and sick may seem like a burden, but how we treat them defines our humanity. A
weak child or a sick elderly person can be the leader or the wisest of the group. Not everything can
be measured with physical measurements. Spiritual values keep our souls alive. They are very
important because in a sense we have entered the world of the "living dead". It is a world where
humanity and love are disappearing folklore.

As a team leader, I would rather trust an honest, easy-going person who is aware of his
own weaknesses than a smug saint who claims to know everything or that things outside of his
expertise are not important. Groups must be disciplined and capable of quick and rational
decision-making. Slacking off can cost you your life. Now we are not on a pleasure trip, but trying
to survive in the time after the "end of the world".

Finally, some more practical advice for the coming days: Never assume anything. Nothing is
self-evident. Try to make things sure, but also remember that overconfidence can backfire. Don't
be overly sensitive. Start bracing yourself now. Don't rely on luck but on skills. Be realistic. If you
are a believer, keep your feet on the ground even if your heart is in "heaven". Learn to appreciate
even small things, because your survival or endurance may depend on them. What you throw
away as unnecessary today could save your life tomorrow.

3. Spirituality keeps our humanity alive

How to preserve one's humanity when the world becomes more and more harsh and
violent? How do you build such a strong spiritual foundation that it will last even when the
civilization around us collapses? "Try to be a harmless person, do not cause harm to other beings,"
advised the Buddha. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," taught Jesus. Here
are, in my opinion, two golden rules for a good life.

It's good to find out your values now and ask yourself: what is really valuable to me? The
values of life define the direction of our life, even its purpose. Values influence the way we
behave. What is most valuable to you shapes your character and guides your choices. Values that
are important to me are, for example, love, truth, justice, compassion, open-mindedness,
moderation, beauty, ecology, life protection and spirituality.
 In my opinion, spiritual growth is one of the reasons why we are here. Without spirituality
we are spiritless. In the following, I have compiled a kind of basic guidelines for good spirituality -
they are so universal that probably a representative of every religion and many who do not belong
to them can sign them:

1) Believe in God and consider yourself human when the world descends into chaos.
2) Try to live in such a way that your conscience remains clear.
3) Strive for peace with yourself, your neighbors, your Creator and creation.
4) Search and study the ancient scriptures for eternal wisdom.
5) Strive to find love so as not to drift into despair, because only love can save you from despair.

It's not worth venturing into superficial or commercial spirituality, and not trusting all the
prophets and gurus of the world. Counterfeits exist in every industry. There are good teachers, but
there are also bad ones. There are those who "feed the sheep", but also those who "eat the
sheep", i.e. act as spiritual teachers to benefit other people, to feed their own ego, etc.

Similarly, a spirituality that turns too much inward (or to the beyond) and crafts only
around one's own self or one's own spiritual growth is not only selfish, but also harmful. A healthy
faith in God does not make a person indifferent to the things of this world and, for example, the
environment, on the contrary. This is the world we live in, and right now we ― and the planet ―
have to get through some tough times.

Robinson Crusoe spent years alone on an island he named the Island of Despair. Robinson
read the Bible and prayed. Still, he was also the most practical person, who learned every skill in
the face of necessity and thus survived. Robinson also had a dog and two cats as friends, and
eventually he found Friday, who became his friend. Robinson Crusoe is a useful read even in
difficult times ahead, because you can be on your own, and in a sense we are all shipwrecked
then. We must strive to survive in a new, hostile world ― until we can make it our home again.

4. The future is full of hope

When all connections are severed in the difficult times to come, a relationship with God
may be all we have. Faith, hope and love are a good survival kit. These three always go hand in
hand, and the greatest of them is love. Love breeds faith, and when we have faith, we have hope.

Yes, hope also comes from nature and people, from us. My ecoeschatology includes both
theocentric, anthropocentric and ecocentric dimensions. These perspectives do not contradict
each other, but rather overlap and complement each other in such a way that divinity permeates
both physical nature and human nature.

In the time of the end, the opposites will become sharper. The evil becomes worse and the
holy becomes holier. Both good and evil are gathering their forces. Each of us has ingredients for
both groups, so it's worth feeding the good side right now. In the 16th century, the Finnish
religious reformer formulated a beautiful prayer: "When evil increases, give more of your grace, so
that my faith does not falter, that hope does not die out, that love does not grow cold."

Teijo Lusa, ecoeschatologist, Finland