Working Through Difficult Times in the World

I have long been a keen observer of the world, and of trends, and of how we humans deal with what comes along and presents itself as a challenge.

People are fond of saying things like "We live in unprecedented times!" but is that really true? Or do we merely live in times that seem more difficult than anything we can remember from our own lifetimes?

My auntie from Denmark — the one who helped raise me — was a girl during World War I, a young woman during the Great Depression and fully adult and in business during World War II. If there was one thing I learned from spending so many years around her, it was to take a pragmatic approach to what we had to face... to whatever degree that was possible.

Of course, it isn't always possible.

As I went through the supermarket today, I noticed how the empty shelves remain many... and there are certain products I have been needing to restock for our household for months, and it never seems like they actually get any new shipments.

People are struggling. We have lived with relative prosperity for many years, and now many are really being tested as they adjust to "making do with what they can get," rather than "getting what they want."

I'm grateful that we grow a fair amount of our own food.

We've been very busy around here. A couple of days ago, we were invited to participate in our town's largest Arts and Crafts fair... Both Mrs. Denmarkguy and I have our creative ventures, so we will be setting up as vendors.

We got in because someone else had dropped out, and Mrs. Denmarkguy happened to be chatting to one of the event organizers at just the right time. The artist who had dropped out had dropped out because they simply didn't have the money for the $200 vendor fee.

We don't have the money, either... but we are hoping to recoup having to "borrow" the $200 from our daily grocery and expenses fund. If we don't make it back — with room to spare — we'll be in big trouble!

We've participated in this particular event twice before, and it has gone OK... but we haven't done so while the economy was in bad shape. So it'll be interesting to see what happens!

I have no sense for when "times will get better." Maybe they never will. I just hope it doesn't get to the point where we'll have to liquidate our Steem Power, just to survive.

Life is scary, these days!

Thanks for reading, and have a great Friday!

How about YOU? How is YOUR personal economy? Are you seeing empty supermarket shelves and people struggling to stay alive? Or are things better? Do leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

(All text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is ORIGINAL CONTENT, created expressly for this platform — NOT A CROSSPOST!!!)
Created at 20220908 23:55 PDT
x463