Goal for the New Year: Boredom (and a Little Bit More)

That was the Reader’s Digest version of an article I read somewhere last week.  It’s definitely one of my recurring goals, and I’m sure it’s yours, too.  We love a boring life.  We want to give our family a boring life.  That’s why we prepare. 

Because catastrophes and collapse in their myriad presentations should be complete yawners, right?  We see all the (AI-generated) images of perfectly physically fit twenty-somethings bugging out with survival gear as mushroom clouds rise in the background and think something’s wrong with that picture. 

The reality is that most disasters don’t require abandoning our homes.  Most require us to bring life back to normalcy as soon as possible.  It’s actually rather boring stuff.  Storing water and the means to purify water obtained from other sources.  Chopping wood and building a fire.  Flipping a switch on the generator.  Solar panels.  Cooking from scratch and gardening.  We can’t even be suckered into reading the ubiquitous “Store These 352 Items or You Will Die” lists anymore. 

That’s why I write these articles, and it’s why you read them.  At least, that’s what I believe.

Preparing well for natural and manmade disasters reduces them to minor inconveniences.  It keeps life as boring as possible.  At least until a window breaks or door won’t close and the spiders enter.  And then all heck breaks loose. We’ve got to keep the flame throwers secured so that the creepy-crawlie averse don’t set the house on fire. 

Pondering the original article that prompted this one has helped me realize that I’m well set to keep life boring here, short of a wildfire, catastrophic earthquake, or devastating illness.  Sure, dealing with a long-term loss of electricity or indoor plumbing would be a drag.  I don’t particularly enjoy grinding wheat by hand or having to build a fire for outdoor cooking.  But it wouldn’t be stressful.  I’d probably be getting more exercise. And without writing a blog article every day, I’d likely have the extra hours needed to accomplish those tasks. 

However, visits with my family over the holidays and time in scripture study has suggested that my goal shouldn’t stop at preparing for a boring life.  If I want to have any hope of returning to live with my Savior again, I must become charitable.  I’ve got to develop the pure love of Christ.  I’ve got to recognize that all of the people around me are children of our Heavenly Father.  They are as precious to Him as my children are.  They need nourishing with the good word of Christ and good food and medicine as much as my children and grandchildren do.  They may not have been raised with the gospel of Jesus Christ.  They may not have had loving parents who taught them essential life skills.  They might have been fooled by a government that promised to meet their every need. 

I can’t compensate for what they lack.  Fortunately, that’s not my job.  I just have to develop charity and see them as our Heavenly Father does.  Perhaps I can store extra supplies and knowledge as they are ready for it.  So that’s the goal for 2026:  Keeping life boring for my family and developing a little bit more charity and the ability to share supplies as necessary with those who need them.