From the Bottom of the Bucket

 

Going Viral

          “May you live I interesting times' - A Chinese Proverb

" It's the End of the World as We know it".... R.E.M.

 

Well isn't ironic that the country that gave us the proverb above also gave us another pandemic to live  through ! It seems like everyone in the world is going to have to deal with this one.  As I write this blog, I am in Day2 of self imposed "social isolation.  Given my age and health history it seems that I am in the "at risk" group.  After listening to government and other sources, my wife and I have decided to call time out for one week and isolate ourselves from going out of the house.  We are spending the time in different ways but today we are having our annual planning retreat.  What an interesting time to talk about the future!

One of the problems with this situation is the chaos its created.  It seems tthat our traditional sources have a wide range of advice.  Take for instance the words of Dr. Carl Hammerschlag, (webmaster@healingdoc.com) one of my mentors. In his blog, he states the following:

"The coronavirus is pandemic which means it’s spreading rapidly, the fear and panic it’s generated however substantially exceeds what can be reasonably expected if one gets the illness, and that’s an epidemic.  It’s human nature to want to protect ourselves, families and communities from disease and harm. We surely ought to be washing our hands well, coughing and sneezing into a tissue, but stripping the shelves of toilet paper is panic… this is the flu…it doesn’t come out that way; and stockpiling food in preparation for months of quarantine, or the conspiracy theorists’ predictions of the coming Armageddon is equally ridiculous" (To read his full post click on the link above.)

 

Yet, another friend of mine shared a post from Facebook that has gone viral  (no pun intended) that makes the following remark:

 

"we must assume that the healthcare system cannot help us, because the hospitals will become overwhelmed very quickly. Most American hospitals will become overwhelmed in approximately 30 days unless something changes. More on this in part 2 below. So although we are in great health and unlikely to become gravely ill, the risk is greater if you do not have access to the medical care that you need."

 

With so many opinions floating around, who do you believe?  If you let fear rule your decision process, you make bad choices.  My comment is a bit more basic.  The more centered you are , the more likely you will  make better choices.   Being centered means you have a balance between your Realms and your Activities are in alignment with your Roles.   From this position of confidence, you can deal with almost anything.  Without it, almost nothing.   My wife and I are going to use this alone time to stay focused on strengthening our commitment to the future, by reviewing Our Roles, Goals and Activities.   We cannot let outside interference dominate that process. 

 

It is my hope that each of you that reads this will embrace what is given to you, shape what you can, and deal with the rest from a position of strength.  It isn't easy, but it never has been. 

 

Until next month, I wish you fulfillment.

 Bob