10 Rest Stops on the Way to Olduvai Cliff

Life before industrial collapse

Photo by Jonas Wurster / Unsplash

What’s the Olduvai Cliff? The term comes from the Olduvai Theory, which predicts that industrial civilization will have a short lifespan. After peaking in energy use and complexity, society will face a steep and sudden decline (the “cliff”) leading to a permanent return to pre-industrial conditions.

If you’re reading this, you probably think collapse is coming. Maybe soon, maybe later. Nobody can say how long we’ve got. What we do know is that life doesn’t stop while we wait.

It’s fine to prepare. It’s important to grieve. But it’s also worth remembering that the odds of you existing at all are almost zero. And yet, here you are. Breathing. Eating. Talking to people you care about.

That’s the gift. And if there’s any point to being alive, it’s to make something of that gift. Not in the sense of chasing stuff or ticking off achievements, but by actually living.

Here are ten things worth doing before we reach the cliff.

1. Watch a sunrise in silence

Find a place where the horizon is open, sit down, and watch the first light spread. No talking, no phone, no multitasking. Sunrises are short, but they mark the start of something new every day. It’s a way to feel part of the cycle.

2. Learn a skill

Pick something that could be useful long after the grid goes down, or long after you do. It could be making music, building furniture, growing food, or fixing engines. Skills are one of the few things you can carry with you anywhere, and they connect you to others who value them.

3. Make and share a meal from scratch

Hunt, grow, forage, or just build it from base ingredients. Don’t take shortcuts. Cooking this way teaches patience, awareness, and respect for what you’re eating. Sharing it turns a simple meal into a bond between you and the people at the table.

4. Take a day with no plan

From the moment you wake up, let the day decide where it goes. No TV or social media. Wander, nap, talk to strangers, follow whatever catches your attention. It’s a rare reminder that life happens when you stop trying to make it happen.

5. Walk with no destination

Leave the house and just start moving. Take turns without thinking, follow side streets or trails you’ve never tried. Walking without a goal clears mental clutter and creates new ideas.

6. Tell someone what they mean to you

Most of us wait until funerals or crises to say the things that matter. Don’t. Pick a person and tell them now. It may feel awkward, but the memory of that moment will stay with both of you for the rest of your lives.

7. Sleep under a sky full of stars

Go somewhere without light pollution, lie down, and look up until you lose track of time. Seeing the Milky Way or a meteor shower puts everything in scale. It’s a view we share with our earliest ancestors.

8. Make something for no reason

Build, write, paint, or craft something that serves no practical purpose. The act of creating for its own sake strips away the need for approval or profit. It’s a reminder that not everything worth doing has to be “useful.”

9. Forgive someone

It might take years, or it might happen in an instant, but letting go of old anger lightens the load you carry. You can still remember, still set boundaries but forgiveness frees you from replaying the same wound forever. Make a habit of quickly forgiving new grievances.

10. Sit with someone in a hard moment

You don’t need to fix their problem or offer advice. Just being there, quietly, is sometimes all that's needed. In a collapsing world, calming human presence may end up being the most valuable resource we have left.