Spiritual Healing Is Great. Still Buy the Water and Wet Wipes.
Hoowee.. I knew that my own blog was neglected, but… over a year neglected?! 😅 Oops… I guess I got distracted with the new book, the YouTube channel, the micro-podcast, and all that. I even ventured into TikTok waters, which I swore I would never do! The world has changed so much since I got NET (Neuro Emotional Technique) certified in 2002! That 24 solid years practicing NET in San Francisco and already 10 years in Sacramento has flown by so fast!
And you know what? Even after all that time, NET still feels like magic to me — both from the practitioner viewpoint and from the patient experience! Yep, I still get NET myself. (In fact, I’ll be seeing my own NET doc in about 2 weeks.)
NET can feel so magical that it’s easy to get swept up in it, and to want to just keep doing NET (and somatic trauma healing modalities like it) forever! And there’s nothing wrong with working on healing forever. I mean, as long as you’re alive, your body is going to take on some damage one way or another, so, it’s a forever job. It’s just like how your car will always been maintenance - forever. (And as any car lover know, even a car that is “doing nothing” inside of a garage needs periodic care!)
So today’s post is about something that is pretty important - and most of you reading this know that you “should” have this handled - but the reality is that most people don’t.
And that is… your 3-7 day disaster kit!
I know, you hardcore preppers out there are probably fine - go read something else - but for the average person? You don’t think you’ll need it.
Those of us living in “earthquake territory” know that we really “should.” But there's another sneaky disaster that could happen any day which nobody thinks about it. What happens if the power grid gets completely knocked out for a few days? In the old days, I thought, “who cares? light a candle.” But these days… we rely on electricity, wifi, etc. for soooooo much! And the clean water stops flowing on top of that? We’re pretty helpless.
There is so much uncertainty and anxiety in the world right now! We can’t help it if something crazy happens to the electrical grid and it takes a few days (or longer?) to get connected with who and what we need in our communities. As with any disaster, the key is to stay calm and follow the disaster plan as much as possible.
So what do you need in this disaster kit?
Everyone knows you should have enough food and water for your household. The general recommendation for water is 1 gallon of water per person per day. And even if you have enough water set aside, it’s a good idea to have a LifeStraw and/or water purification tablets on hand anyway!
Food? Non-perishables like dry beans (which assumes you’ll have enough water), lentils, etc. and canned foods.
A hand crank radio or hand crank phone charging source is a good idea, and these days, solar charging blocks are also easily available!
These often have little flashlights on them, but it’s also a good idea to get a headlamp and enough batteries to last.
And most people forget about the toilet issue! They assume that water will still run if the power is out and the toilets will still flush, but what if it doesn’t? If the water stops, then you have just 1 good flush left (whatever water is in the tank) and then that’s it! When “that’s it",” that is when you get to switch to black trash bags and kitty litter! Yep. Keep a box of those black trash bags and use them to line your dry toilet, fill it a bit with kitty litter, and that’s your temporary disaster toilet. When trash service is back, you can throw those bags away. And don’t forget to have some wet wipes at the ready!
Make sure that you have about 2 weeks worth of your prescription meds handy, and also important phone numbers written down on paper! Nobody knows anyone’s phone numbers anymore! I remember my phone number from kindergarten… but I don’t know my own child’s cell phone number! They’re just a name in my contacts list and autodial! 😅
The banks won’t work, so you’ll want to always have a little stash of small bills. I wonder sometimes how useful this will actually be, depending on how bad the disaster is, but it’s better to have some than not, right??
And of course your basic first aid kit. Not a major trauma response kit! Just some bandaids, antiseptic, ibuprofen, stuff like that. Some decent KN95 masks and gloves. Nothing too crazy.
Hopefully you’ll never need this kit, but the truth it… the odds that we will need it inch closer and closer every day. Some day the Big One (earthquake) WILL happen. Someday, whether through malice, bad luck, or nature, there WILL be a big electrical and/or water disruption. That’s just the way it goes!
So, this week, make it a point to gather some key items for your 3-7 day disaster kit! It’ll give you some peace of mind right now, and Future You will thank you, too! 😊🙏🏻
-DK