Self-reliance is a term that is not thrown around too often anymore. It is so easy to grab dinner at a fast food restaurant or to pay a mechanic to change your oil for you. We say we are saving time by going the fast route, but think about all the skills we are losing by doing this.
The other day, I was in my dorm with my roommates and we were all making dinner together. I noticed that my roommates kept asking me how to make a certain dish because they did not know how. I simply told them to read the directions on the recipe and follow the steps. It is amazing how easy it is to ask somebody else to do something for you rather than you doing it for yourself.
After saying all of that, I would like to point out the Amish as being an excellent example of creating and making goods for themselves, rather than buying or paying someone else to do their work. My family used to live close to an Amish community and we would go to their stores every once in a while to buy homemade goodies. We would stack our cart full of jams, honey, dried noodles, apple cider and sometimes, handcrafted keepsakes.
The Amish are preserving their traditions and keeping them alive by showing the younger generation how to cook, sew, rely on animals for certain foods and even make beautifully hand-crafted furniture. I am not saying that we all need to stop using electricity and ride a horse and buggy to get from place to place, but we can definitely learn from their simple lifestyle.
I am personally trying harder to rely on myself more rather than taking the easy way out. My family has taught me a lot about that as well, for which I am extremely thankful. One of my hobbies is beekeeping; therefore, I get to raise bees and harvest their honey. This is something that I have found for myself that I enjoy. My parents have also found a forte that they enjoy. My dad roasts his own coffee, and my mom is very talented at sewing. They have been great examples toward my siblings and me, and have taught us how to be self-reliant.
I challenge everybody to use their talents or find something that interests them and create for yourself rather than buying it somewhere. Let’s have confidence in our abilities and show independence by relying on us for simple tasks rather than passing it on to others.
