My 12-year old daughter recently said to me, “Dad, you’re lucky. When you were a kid the world was normal. You didn’t have to deal with all of the craziness that our generation does.”
I paused and looked at her with sincere empathy. Then, I assured to her that the world was just as crazy when her mom and I were kids.
I explained to her that when I was her age, America was fighting a war in Iraq that we referred to as “Desert Storm.”
I told her that we were also facing a worldwide pandemic called AIDS, which like CV19, affected and even killed many people.
We were also in the midst of an economic crisis, similar to today.
And long before any of that, our grandparents were experiencing the Great Depression, the Spanish Flu, more wars than I can name, and countless other hardships.
Yet, I reminded her that her mom and I, as well as our grandparents, made it through all of that, and so will she.
As I was saying all of this to her, it hit me, too. I remembered that since the beginning of humanity, human beings have experienced adversity – both collectively and individually. And humanity has made it through all of our collective struggles, just as each of us has made it through our individual struggles.
Of course, not everyone makes it. Tragedy befalls human beings every day. It’s an inevitable part of life.
But I think it’s important for all of us to remember that we’ve survived every adversity we’ve ever faced, and that every single one presents us with an opportunity to learn, grow, and become better than we were before we were challenged.
You’ve proven that you can handle anything that comes your way, so there is nothing to fear.
And remember that when we focus on that which is out of our control, we feel out of control. This typically causes us to experience unhealthy and unnecessary anxiety, fear, and depression.
So, let’s focus our attention and our energy into that which we can control, beginning with how we show up for ourselves, for those we love, and for those we lead.
I love you all very much.
– Hal
P.S. Here’s a screenshot of a quote that you can save, to help remind you of this…
