What a time to be alive. The world, which was seemingly glee about entering a new decade, has turned completely upside down, all in the span of a few weeks. Once in a century catastrophe, unforeseen, unpredictable, and unfathomable, it has affected every single person, all around the world in one way or another. Here we are, in the eye of the storm, stuck in our homes, not knowing where things are heading. Schools are closed, stock markets have crashed, airlines are grounded, the supermarkets are running low on bottled water, and a lot of people have explosive diarrhea apparently, so they fought with their neighbors and hoarded up on toilet paper. Weird times. I mean, even the republicans want to hand out money to stabilize the economy. Who would have thought that would happen?.
Yet interesting times. If this event doesn’t change how we look at things and our decision-making skills, then I don’t know what will. Our goals have changed, plans have altered, routines turned upside down, and while we might be angry, upset, annoyed, or just scared, it’s such time to learn a lesson.
Most of our goals, plans, worries, and anxiousness that plagued us just a few weeks ago seem so trivial now, doesn’t it?. Those tiny things that bothered you, kept you up at night, like that raise or promotion you didn’t get, now seems trivial while you pray that you still have a job, while thousands all over the globe are being laid off. You were annoyed when the flights were delayed, but now you’re glad you’re home no matter how long it took. The apartment you lost out on, which crushed you at that moment, now seems like a blessing in disguise, doesn’t it? The stocks you lost out on doesn’t matter when the whole financial system is burning to ashes. Your company and your employer that you happen to hate don’t seem so bad now since you still have a job to go to, now do they?
These black swan events show us how fragile our lives really are. We worry and whine and complain about the little things when everything is going perfectly, utterly oblivious to the fact that things can be so much worse. We couldn’t have imagined how bad things can actually get until this event. If nothing else, we come out stronger, more united, more resilient, and with a fresh perspective on life. The next time we lose out on the little things, our newfound perspective, hopefully, will make us nod it off and move on.
Stay safe. Stay indoors. Don’t sweat the small stuff.
Peace.
