I was surprised when recognition hit me. First of all, the man I recognized was many, many years older in the campground. He was also thinner and his health didn't seem great. I had recognized him laying on a mat by a campfire with ragged pants and no shirt. His hair was longer, grayer and his face had a thin, scruffy beard but he was still the man I knew.
There was no way I could go to this man and tell him that I had seen him in a vision. First. I would have to explain the vision which I wasn't sure I understood myself. Then, I would also have to describe to him the conditions and his appearance. I had no doubts that he wouldn't believe or accept that he might someday be half dressed, ungroomed and living in a hut.
I began to believe that the vision was somehow a glimpse into the future. However, I wasn't sure that it was how things were going to be or if it was how things MIGHT be. I noticed things about the campground and the people and thought that if I could change SOME things and somehow make them better then perhaps if and when the time came it wouldn't be quite so difficult. Perhaps what I was seeing was a possible "if" rather then the only future. So I held the knowledge of the man's condition to myself just as I had kept and continued to keep the vision to myself.
I began to notice not just the people in the camp but the area itself and all the changes that had happened. It seemed that everything was drab and grey. Even the sun seemed to be trying to penetrate the grey. The pond was nothing more then a struggling mudhole since it seemed the dam had been destroyed. The grass was dry and dusty. Many of the trees were broken and dying. Above the pond were large houses that aren't there in the 80s but must have been built there at some future date. They were burned out and no longer fit for living. On the upper side of the field by the tree line there appears to be something that resembles a graveyard. There were rows upon rows of raised or long sunken ground where people had been buried. It was shocking to realize how many people those graves must hold. This wasn't the beautiful pasture that I knew but a damaged and struggling land. I had no idea what had caused the damage but I knew that it was the reason that all these people had come here to live. I came to know that outside of the camp that there was more waste and destruction.
Something else I noticed was that I couldn't SEE myself in the camp. At least I didn't SEE myself as an observer. I believe that is because I was there but looking through my own eyes rather then on the outside looking in. I was an active participant in the camp. I found myself walking around and people were interacting with me. We never spoke with audible words but I knew what they were saying to me. I didn't see my husband but I could hear a hammering off to the side and somehow KNEW that it was him and other men using those hammers. I looked in the pots that held the evening meal and what I saw there seemed bland and unappetizing. There was a garden spot but it didn't look like a very productive garden.
The more I paid attention the more I began to think that I needed to make some changes. I wasn't sure at that time what I needed to do but I knew if I was able that I needed to somehow make this future "if" a little easier on myself and the others involved. I felt like I had been given the vision so that I would know what would be required to save myself and these other people too. It is through that realization that I think I became a "prepper". Even though I don't believe that anyone used that word back in the late 80s or early 90s it is what I began to do.
There was no way I could go to this man and tell him that I had seen him in a vision. First. I would have to explain the vision which I wasn't sure I understood myself. Then, I would also have to describe to him the conditions and his appearance. I had no doubts that he wouldn't believe or accept that he might someday be half dressed, ungroomed and living in a hut.
I began to believe that the vision was somehow a glimpse into the future. However, I wasn't sure that it was how things were going to be or if it was how things MIGHT be. I noticed things about the campground and the people and thought that if I could change SOME things and somehow make them better then perhaps if and when the time came it wouldn't be quite so difficult. Perhaps what I was seeing was a possible "if" rather then the only future. So I held the knowledge of the man's condition to myself just as I had kept and continued to keep the vision to myself.
I began to notice not just the people in the camp but the area itself and all the changes that had happened. It seemed that everything was drab and grey. Even the sun seemed to be trying to penetrate the grey. The pond was nothing more then a struggling mudhole since it seemed the dam had been destroyed. The grass was dry and dusty. Many of the trees were broken and dying. Above the pond were large houses that aren't there in the 80s but must have been built there at some future date. They were burned out and no longer fit for living. On the upper side of the field by the tree line there appears to be something that resembles a graveyard. There were rows upon rows of raised or long sunken ground where people had been buried. It was shocking to realize how many people those graves must hold. This wasn't the beautiful pasture that I knew but a damaged and struggling land. I had no idea what had caused the damage but I knew that it was the reason that all these people had come here to live. I came to know that outside of the camp that there was more waste and destruction.
Something else I noticed was that I couldn't SEE myself in the camp. At least I didn't SEE myself as an observer. I believe that is because I was there but looking through my own eyes rather then on the outside looking in. I was an active participant in the camp. I found myself walking around and people were interacting with me. We never spoke with audible words but I knew what they were saying to me. I didn't see my husband but I could hear a hammering off to the side and somehow KNEW that it was him and other men using those hammers. I looked in the pots that held the evening meal and what I saw there seemed bland and unappetizing. There was a garden spot but it didn't look like a very productive garden.
The more I paid attention the more I began to think that I needed to make some changes. I wasn't sure at that time what I needed to do but I knew if I was able that I needed to somehow make this future "if" a little easier on myself and the others involved. I felt like I had been given the vision so that I would know what would be required to save myself and these other people too. It is through that realization that I think I became a "prepper". Even though I don't believe that anyone used that word back in the late 80s or early 90s it is what I began to do.