which grid?

I think we all, in some ways, would like to be 'off-grid' -- off some grid, at least --

The tax grid -- the one that takes the first three to six months of our income every year;

The health mill grid -- the endless round of tests, meds, and visits that never seem to eliminate the complaint;

The grid of pavement that crisscrosses our country and eats so many hours of every week;

The fashion grid: this one reaches into almost every aspect of our lives with tentacles of fear and discontent, insecurity and resentment;

The grid of dissatisfaction that keeps us looking for something, anything, with real value and meaning -- something that means our lives have purpose;

Some grids make us more vulnerable than others. We depend on electricity to light, heat, and cool our homes, and to hold our perishable foods in storage. When the power goes out we grope for flashlights, which remind us of our dependence on another grid. Electricity runs our digital entertainment, which may be the grid we miss most acutely.

But the grids we seldom feel to be threatened may be the ones we depend on most of all: the food grid, and the water grid.

Where do our food and water come from, and how do they reach us? If we don't know the answer, we are profoundly vulnerable.