Life in The Times of COVID-19
Life works in circles. I remember hearing from one of my professors in undergrad that "the more things change, the more they stay the same," and that "history teaches us that we never learn from history."
Based on what I've seen over the past few weeks, I'd say both are pretty effing accurate.
Between this soon-to-end prohibition, a current pandemic, and an imminent financial crisis, I'd say we've officially entered the #roaringtwenties 2.0. In true form, multitudes of people have lost jobs, money, and even their lives. Coincidentally, a large part of the US has also lost its mind.
“But perhaps the most difficult part of this process is grieving the stories, the fantasies, the promises, and social narratives that you clung to in order to make sense of the situation... The utterly desperate hopes and dreams that you cultivated in the face of your suffering.”
When things (seem to be) scarce, we always get a glimpse into people's darker sides. In the last 10 days I've watched media-driven anxiety and fear lead to a doomsday-like uptick in firearm sales and demand in toilet paper that spiked so high it all but depleted Amazon's supply chain for a few days. Seeing such a drastic response to an issue that could be better managed by cleaving together as a community/nation/world/species honestly made me very disappointed.
WHY do people insist on hanging on to sensationalism?
WHY do people insist on avoiding actual studies, if they have multiple pages?
WHY does every emergency have to equal a prequel to The Walking Dead?
ALSO, WTF is this obsession with the apocalypse and zombies?!
We seem to obsess over our demise, but loathe the responsible practices that can actually help prevent it. This topic isn’t new by any stretch, but this current time period has amplified everything x10.
When it comes to times of hardship, I’ve always been a firm believer in the notion of Ubuntu: I am, because we are; communities survive trying times better, that’s why we evolved to be social creatures. I also acknowledge the privilege of growing up in one, and being raised by parents who embodied that principle as a lifestyle, as well as being a member of multiple communities that span across cities, states, and countries.
None of these decisions make me better (there are plenty of folks who know me personally, who can attest to that), but the decision to choose community over chaos is much simpler than we make it out to be. It was these same communities that gave me perspective on how insensitive I was being, to a degree.
Life - and by extension, society - goes in cycles.
Roughly every century we’ll have a war, a pandemic, a noteworthy market slump, and a few natural disasters. All of these events usually lead to panic, and how people choose to panic is ultimately, on them. My sincere hope is that community and leadership remain constant in the midst of it all; the time periods following public unrest are also prime opportunities for discord and major depression.
This is a time where we can either make or break ourselves (and by extension, each other). We can either fade away with the outdated modes of thought, intended to be replaced by the times, or we can adapt in kind.
Rather than sitting back and critiquing the world from the eye holes in my oil paintings, I’m choosing this as an opportunity to cleave to my community, knowing that when the dust clears, love wins.
For alternatives to the noise, you can find links to various resources below. May they be a harbor in your storm:
For men: www.mastermindconnect.com.
For more co-ed solutions, please peruse this Resource Encyclopedia for online courses, remote job opportunities, games and other resources for digital nomads