Are you the Grasshopper or the Ant?

Are you the Grasshopper
or the Ant?

I loved this cartoon as a child. I figured the Grasshopper was a lazy goof-off and the ant was building a cool fort. Clearly that is not the whole story.


Aesop's fable, "The Grasshopper and the Ant" is a classic. Here is Walt Disney's "Silly Symphony" version.

The Grasshopper enjoyed the summer sun singing and dancing the day away. He laughed at the Ants working hard gathering food for the winter. The Queen Ant warns the Grasshopper that winter is coming and he will be sorry if he is not prepared. The Grasshopper brushes it off claiming winter is far away, nothing to worry about.

The Grasshopper says "Listen, the Good Book says, the Lord will provide. There's food on every tree. I see no reason to worry and worry."

Winter blows in and the Grasshopper struggles through the snow in search of food and shelter. He remembers where the ants lived and knocks on their door.

Now in the original version the Queen Ant tells the Grasshopper "we worked hard all summer long while you laughed at us. You should have thought of winter then! There's no food or shelter for you here." She shuts the door in his face. The Disney version has the worker Ants taking the Grasshopper in, warming him up and giving him food. The Queen marches over and tells him "just those who work may stay. So take your fiddle and play".

This little fable is chock full of Prepper themes; such as, stocking up, preparing for future events, operational security and what to do when people come knocking on your door looking for assistance.

For now, lets talk about the main theme of preparation.

I know many "Grasshopper" types. They move day to day worrying about a million things, but when you mention having more than just a flashlight on hand for an emergency they tilt their head like a confused puppy dog. There are tons of reasons why an individual will choose to not think about future emergencies, small or large. Buddha teaches us to live in the present moment. Don't dwell on the passed or fantasize about the future. You miss the present when you drift away in hypothetical land.

So how do you prepare without getting lost in thought or even fear of the future?

BALANCE! There's that word again :)

What are the emergencies most likely to affect your area? Flooding, landslide, snow/ice storm, tornado, power outages.... make a list. There are lots of sites dedicated to helping you prepare a list of possible scenarios, what to stock and how much. I feel, when fear starts driving your preparations, you are dwelling too much in the future. When you feel you can never have enough to survive, you are getting off balance. The balancing act stems from within. In the end emergencies large and small will come and go, your survival will largely depend on your mental capacity to let go of material things, luxuries and expectations of what should be, and embracing what is.

Stick to a budget. Don't go thinking "well the world might end in December so I will use a bunch of credit cards to stock up. No worries about creating debt right?" Wrong! Creating an expectation invites appointment's and trouble.  Preparing should be a responsible act to care for you and your family's needs.

The Grasshopper points out that "the Lord will provide", claiming that there is no need to stock up. I say to that Grasshopper, the Lord also had Noah building an arch. He prepared!

We prepare spiritually for a future by leading a good life. For me, that is continuing to learn and practice the ways of Buddha, meditation, living in awareness and gratitude for the world around me. We prepare mentally by releasing worry, learning new skills (like how to start a fire without matches) and creating positive perspective. Physical preparation for the future is just as important. We eat food to nourish our bodies and exercise so that we may live another day (hopefully many many more). Emergency preparation is an extension of all of this.

Do not let thoughts of the future consume you. Today is here! To recenter or balance yourself spend as much time ( or more) enjoying what is...right now. Enjoy family, hanging with friends, a walk in the park, dancing in the rain. We could spend our lives preparing only to have our lives snuffed away in the flash of a second. All those preparations did nothing. So remember to balance it. Prepare and  Live.