Maybe there is, and you had better find some of it really soon cause we aren't likely to be over this anytime soon and God forbid you actually get this virus and don't have a strong immune system.
Finances.
Investments, where I've done really well since hiring Trump to get the government out of my way, took a sharp downturn when all this virus mess first hit the fan. Just like everyone else I went from feeling unsettled to semi-panicked depending on the day and the new information until I realized I was solidly prepared. I went from 90% invested to 80% cash in a matter of a week trying to avoid a crash and have the cash to jump back in when the dust settled. Now I'm about 50-50 and nibbling on some insane bargains on the worst selloff days and trimming big gains on the days when the market reaches for the moon. I was prepared for this disaster in a number of ways not the least of which is my minimalist lifestyle and I'll be even better prepared when the next calamity happens and it will. I'll hopefully be ready for that one too and for all the very same reasons. Being prepared, it's not the worst thing in the world. I highly recommend it.
Work.
Almost overnight the work I have been doing over the past several years stopped on a dime. No calls, no outlook, no future plans, nothing but silence. I have effectively been laid off or furloughed, or however, you would describe it it's gone at least for now. My finances are well and in order and there is no reason to worry where or if I would ever work again, so all is fine there. The things others have expressed as being hard to cope with like social distancing and hunkering down alone, I've been doing this for over 40 years and hearing how tough that is for some is very strange to me. I'd just say, welcome to my world, come on in, and in fact, I don't even notice a difference. Learning to live by and with yourself, it's not the worst thing in the world.
Food.
For the past few years, I've been filling two homes with food and general supplies of all types and I always ordered from Amazon and Freshly.com all these large quantities of things to split between the two houses so my mom and I wouldn't ever run out of anything so all is good on that front for now. Nothing wrong with having too many of things you use all the time and it all came in handy when this virus hit the fan.
Peace of mind.
I think I relate more to much older folks more susceptible to this pandemic than younger ones and ever since mom passed away I've been on a steep learning curve about life and the things that really matter. I am worried about our elderly who need to see and talk to people but who are extremely vulnerable to this virus and the people who are a-symptomatic but who are carrying it. These folks are from a different time and value system and all too often they are left in the end to fend for themselves when in reality they need others to help. Needs is one of the many things I learned a lot about from caring for my own mom for the past several years. For me now that my number one concern is no longer with me, I no longer worry for much else related to me personally but I could see at some point when all this virus mess is controlled wanting to do something to help older people in some way who desperately need others and don't have anyone. What I learned during my mom's hospital stays and the home health care industry we tried to use was horrifying and someday I'll write about it. If you have loved ones who are elderly and have to rely in some part on others, you had better take a VERY active and present role in that care. That's all I'll say for now about that.
All the other noise related to this pandemic and the worrying about everything I have no control over, I've put all that in the hands of a much higher power. It helps to keep the TV muted except for watching CSPAN to see who exactly is trying to help people, and who subscribes to never letting a tragedy go to waste even while people suffer and die until we get money for our pet projects. Then I watch the press conferences held by those put together by the president who are actually dealing with and trying to address this calamity. Lastly, when totally bored, I do the infrequent drive-bys on social media to see how well I'm doing at avoiding the other pandemics of drama and ignorance.
Moral of the story.
There is no getting around the fact that millions of people are suffering and many more haven't even begun to fully appreciate what all this pandemic and its ramifications will mean to their future and health. The world and not just mine or yours, has changed. Some of the change is through no fault of our own, but a lot of it is. Not being prepared, and a short-sighted lifestyle is directly connected to one another regardless of your ability or willingness to understand that. The health ramifications if you are to get this virus and not have the immune system to fight it off, may kill you or someone extremely important to your life. Taking this health threat lightly is unconscionable. Nothing is ever going to be the same again for a lot more of you than realize it yet. Some will lose everything possibly even your life, and some will be lucky enough to just lose a lot and be OK. But there is hope for really smart people who are fortunate enough to avoid the virus and only have to endure losses you yourself have control over.
Really smart people who may have previously subscribed to flawed and unsustainable political views prior to this mess may go through a total ideological reset because of the effects this economic downturn is going to have on you whether you can see it coming yet or not. The "progressive," open border ideology so many thought of as racist, would now be unthinkable yet there is a candidate running for president in a few short months even in the face of this life-threatening pandemic who supports that threat to you and your families lives and only one who has fought every day of his presidency while being crucified to prevent it. Hopefully, this calamity has changed the mindset of feelings over common sense and may have already flipped some people around. That by itself would be a very positive outcome from a very bad situation. We can only hope and pray this is the case.
When smart people begin to focus on how valuable capitalism, prosperity, and self-reliance is at a time like this, personal values are also going to do an auto-reset almost overnight and may already have done so for those who weren't too sure why some ideologies always fail and others can lead to unfettered prosperity while preparing for the worst. Who you choose to vote for in the next election may already have changed as a result of this calamity now that you have been home and able to see who pushes ideology while the ship is taking on water and sinking and those who will stop at nothing to push you into a lifeboat to literally save your life. We'll have to see who has been paying attention and those who have not who I feel deserve the consequences of ignoring it.
I'm not sure there has ever been a time when the differences in political ideology have ever been as clear and life-saving or life-threatening as the past few weeks. If you aren't seeing it then you are willfully making a personal choice to ignore it and I feel zero obligation to enabling your ignorance now, or ever in the future when your bad choices in the voting booth begin to affect your life AND that of others.
Ask yourself after all this is controlled and we come back outside, who is best suited to get this government out of your way of becoming self-reliant and financially independent so you will suffer less next time and who is more likely to encourage you to vote for skin color, gender, or a more likable personality. Really smart people already know the answer and those new to common sense thinking we welcome you to a better way of life no matter what gets thrown at you. God gave us more sense than a goose to be able to handle situations like we face today but you have made the choice to start using it prior to needing it in order to mitigate your suffering and everyone else.
Those who are never prepared and who choose to spend and live on the edge of being insolvent or in debt and dead broke, those who have no understanding or concern of their own responsibility in never being able to survive in this world without relying on the rest of us who would never live that way, those people are of no concern to me now, or ever. And you are a threat to America.
There is no better time than right now during a calamity like this when an involuntary world reset is upon us to change the ideology you may have been subscribed to that is completely incompatible with capitalism, fully independent self-reliance and personal responsibility, prosperity, and the values America was founded upon. Come on in the water is fine and the life it may save might be your own. Think about it and have a cookie.
No comments:
Post a Comment