(For those who are not familiar with Hardscrabble Farmer, you're in for a treat. There are very few genuine from-the-heart writers out there who are also an enjoyable read. There are even fewer who will expose in raw detail their trials and tribulations for all the world to see. Hardscrabble Farmer is one of them. There are two ways to learn in life. Either you listen to the teacher talk the walk, or you watch the teacher walk the talk. Please invest a few minutes and watch Hardscrabble Farmer walk the talk. - Cognitive Dissonance)
Watch your thoughts, they become words;
watch your words, they become actions;
watch your actions, they become habits;
watch your habits, they become character;
watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”
—FRANK OUTLAW
Late President of the Bi-Lo Stores
Every Summer we are approached by the sons of neighbors, or their mothers, asking if we have work on the farm. For some it is curiosity, for others a desire to earn a few dollars doing something other than sitting around playing video games. Sometimes they work out, others times they don’t, but we almost always give them a shot if we are asked and in some cases it becomes an annual ritual that ends when they go off to college. As a practice I send them off to the chicken coop with a pitchfork and a wheelbarrow and after a brief period of instruction leave them to clean it out. If they return the next day we’ve got a keeper and we move on to other tasks, if not we save each other a lot of time and frustration. Continue reading 5 Keys to a Self-Efficient Life→
The other day Mrs. Cog and I were discussing the latest fear mongering article by a well known doom porn purveyor. Of particular note was the actual technique use to inflame both hope and fear; a particularly effective mind control technique when used with precision and skill on a previously primed audience.
The name of the author is not important and thus, in order not to distract from the conversation, will remain nameless. The technique employed, however, warrants further discussion because of its effectiveness. First it outlines (in frighteningly graphic terms) a potentially mortal danger developing in the political/financial/military sphere, then it reveals some hidden knowledge gained from special insiders who (perhaps, maybe, possibly) are ready to step in and intercede on our behalf. Continue reading The Superman Syndrome→
When we initially awaken and realize life is not what we were taught, inner alarms scream for our attention. Even though we can sense a danger we didn’t previously perceive, we cannot judge how close it is. There is no scale to measure proximity, only the palpable fear of a real and present danger.
Naturally, most of us will desperately grasp for answers. How can this be? What does this mean? What do I do now? And who is to blame?
We need answers! Or at least we think we do.
As we search for answers, we find there is no shortage of players who are more than willing to supply us with all the answers to our now life changing questions. Most of these people speak with a voice of absolute authority, stating factoids and tidbits with complete certainty and conviction. Naturally they insist their truth must be your truth, for only a fool and still asleep sheep would reject self evident 'truth'. Continue reading Collapse Fatigue→
