Chapter 1
Many Areas Of Our Life Require Self-Reliance
Self-reliance will look different for different people depending on the stage of your life, where you live and your health. There are many areas of our life that require self-reliance.
Lifestyle
Self-confidence is defined by dictionary.com as “belief in oneself and one’s powers or abilities; self-confidence; self-reliance; assurance.”
Today’s world is filled with opportunities, the more self-reliant and self-aware you are, the more certainty you will have. And when you have more certainty, you’ll have more energy to work on what gives you inner satisfaction and take advantage of opportunities that align with your values.
When we think of self-reliance, sometimes we think of everything being on our shoulders. That’s not the case. What we’re really talking about is you being responsible for your life and taking the lead when it comes to planning, making decisions, and taking action. It’s about you taking the initiative and making certain things get done in a manner that is in your best interest.
Spiritual Self-Reliance
“People who truly understand what is meant by self-reliance know they must live their lives by ethics rather than rules.” Wayne Dyer
Spiritual self-reliance is essential to our well-being. It allows us to follow our heart, it encourages us to listen to our intuition and do what is right for ourselves. It is about your ability to experience direct personal revelation. We seek our own experiences and do not rely on the experiences and stories of others. Spiritual self-reliance truly frees us to be the best we can be.
Education / Skills
There was a time when the majority of our ancestors created things with their own hands, for themselves and for those around them. There is a huge myth out there about self-reliance. Far too many people believe that it means you exist only on what your two hands can grow or create, that it means living without other people, and that you basically have to do everything yourself in order to be self-reliant. That is extreme, but you can make the way you live your life a revolutionary act by producing some of the things that you need.
Getting an education and trade skills will enable you to make the money you need to live the lifestyle of your choosing and provide for yourself and your family, without being dependent or a burden on others. Get an education in something you enjoy or are passionate about so that while you are earning a living you are also fulfilling your desire to better the world in your field of interest.
Employment
We become more self-reliant as we learn to love work and seek inspiration to find the best ways to provide for ourselves.
Even if your goal is to be a full time wife and mother and not a professional woman in the workforce, you need to have employable skills, whether or not you choose to use them. Life throws us curve balls, nothing is absolute. We need to prepare ourselves to be self-reliant in the event we choose to remain single or our partner becomes ill, disabled, dies or leaves.
The world has changed and gone are the days when women didn’t have to prepare to go into the work force, if even to supplement the families income or enjoy a hobby/side job to put away money in savings or go on vacations. Whether you are single or have a partner it is increasing more difficult to live well on one income.
Free Yourself From the Rat Race
Never before have we had entire cities full of people who clock in their hours at work, come home and then sit in front of mass entertainment while eating prepackaged and precooked food.
Self-reliance is a movement and idea that reminds us we are more than just dependent drones clocking in our hours. It reminds us that there is more to life than the rat race. It reminds us that we can still take back that control.
When you make lifestyle choices that remove your dependence on faceless corporations, no matter where you start, you are increasing your self-reliance.
Self-reliance is a revolutionary act these days. The biggest insurrection in our society is to be as self-sufficient as possible and not dependent on large corporations or the government.
Financial Self-Reliance
More people are deeply in debt more than ever, living a fancy lifestyle that would crumble with one missed paycheck. They are slaves and they don’t even know it.
Being a self-reliant Divine Feminine also means being more self-directed about your personal finances. I’m dedicated to frugal living, because it’s in my best financial interest, and no one else has my best interest in mind better than I do. It surely isn’t the banks who keep sending me credit card offers who hope I will take the bait and live beyond my means.
My Motto:
• Avoid debt
• Save money
• Less is sometimes more
The more self-reliant skills you have the more money you can save for:
• Making purchases without going into debt
• Emergencies
• Retirement
• Vacations and entertainment
Health Self-Reliance
You are a soul with a mortal body. Everything you truly are is not your body. The body is just how your soul is transported around. It’s the vehicle to get your soul and our mind from place to place. It’s the way you can express what you’re feeling and thinking. It’s like your soul and mind got into your body and decided to drive it around for a while.
If you have abused your body for years and keep doing it, the vehicle that carries you around is going to break down a lot earlier than it has to. You have to love yourself enough to not neglect your health. Every woman should be the queen of her own body.
You are in control of your life and responsible for the health of your body. You have more control over your health than most people are aware of. Your body has the ability to heal and repair itself if you give it what it needs and take away what is harming it. But it can also age quickly and deteriorate if it isn’t cared for.
If meals are not planned, it will be easier to choose fast food and lounging on the couch in front of the TV instead of trying a new plant based recipe or going for a walk.
When you think about buying fresh organic fruits and veggies, and become discouraged thinking it is too expensive to eat healthy, you must realize that it’s really expensive to eat unhealthy foods. You can’t afford to eat unhealthy; it might just cost you your life.
If you think you don’t have time and will get to it later and continue to neglect your health, then you might not have your health later. You could end up living the rest of your days in chronic pain, diseased and on medications. Maybe you do have the time after all, you just have to be a little creative and intentional.