have a cookie

Can anything come from a calamity that isn't just more of the worst thing in the world?

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.   

the mouse and the elephant

The lessons available from this virus calamity are all over the place with dozens of new ones popping up every hour and unfortunately, most of them are likely to fly over the heads of many.

A pandemic like the Wuhan China Virus only comes around ever so often but the price paid for it is paid mostly by those who can least afford it. Our parents and grandparents are now unfortunately at the mercy of a lot of the "ME-llennial," generation and that is as frightening as it is chilling. Some thankfully are heading the call to change behaviors in an effort to save others and some are gathering on beaches for spring break and in parks spreading the virus who are clearly glib and don't care.   

But there is actually some hope.

Today I was invited by a very real friend of mine to a link to their church service where the pastor had a great message that was current with a direct link to history that I feel is so important to our survival whether we are in the throes of a worldwide pandemic, or whether all is going exceedingly well like just a few weeks ago.

Reading the anguish and fear some are feeling today made me think of posting this even though only a few dozen will see it. There is no denying we are as a society in very real trouble with this mess today. Some of you are going to lose your jobs, some will lose family members or friends, and the suffering and anxiety are very real and just beginning. Death is very real and easily understood, but the economy and financial health of America for some, is harder to relate to but trust me, you are about to get a better understanding of it all regardless of whether or not you think it relates to you. There are direct unmistakable links between politics, the stock market, the economy, you and your job, AND your future and all of that is going to become more clear to you personally if it hasn't already and regardless if you get infected with the virus or you manage to avoid it.

I want to keep politics in this post at a minimum but it is intrinsically related to where we are and where we will be going and it is going to affect you and everyone you care about. I will only say a couple of things and then leave it here for those who understand it's importance. Imagine if you can, where America would be at this very moment if the economy had not been on a rocket ship to the moon when this virus began and yes, lead by a businessman with an annoying personality. While this unforeseen calamity has vaporized 30% of the gains since Trump's election, just take a minute to think of where we would be if we had elected a professional politician whose ideology sees removing the government's boot off the necks of business and innovation as an afront to social engineering logic. Right now if Trump hadn't had the economy on a rocket ship to historic levels this republic has never seen before, we would already be inside a depression before this virus is even under control. Think about that for a minute. Now think about this, after this pandemic calamity has run its course, what will happen to the rest of this economy that has already lost so much of the cushion Trump gave it, if we elect someone else in 6 months who has already said he will turn back every policy this president has used that boosted this economy to heights never seen before? The bottom line is this if you don't understand the connection between politics and the economy that includes you, your job, and your family's future, educate yourself before you vote to do damage to America that may be impossible to recover from. That's it for politics. Some get it, some never will.

This is what I know for certain about fear and the damage it can do.

The very worst thing I could have ever imagined in my life was losing my mom. She knew I felt this way, she knew how afraid I was, and before she passed away she gave me something that I can say is the only reason I am still alive. She gave me hope and faith that if I would get closer to God that we would see each other again and I know it to be true.

Today the pastor a young guy, relayed a story of him and a colleague who has a picture on his wall in his office that they talk about often. It's a picture of a tiny little mouse dragging a huge elephant up a mountain. This pandemic isn't the only struggle most of us have faced in our lives and how many times have we looked back at where we have been and what we are struggling with and wanted to give up? I know I have MANY times. Maybe the mouse in this picture is dis-couraged at how far he has yet to go dragging this giant elephant or just maybe he's en-couraged by looking back at how far he has come. Just a little perspective on how to look at the days ahead.

We are all still here after all we've been through so far and we took it one small step at a time and decided at some point literally not to look back at where we had been and the struggle that looked impossible, but to look up where we are going and we took another step and then another one and here we are closer to where God is leading us to go.

The struggle and fear is real but you are not alone. There are very powerful people some are hated beyond belief who are doing things to help mitigate the ramifications of an enemy we couldn't see coming. There is a much higher power at work here too that has already paid the full price for you to get from here wherever you are to the top of that mountain where you are headed. Do not waste your time or the price already paid by looking back at where you have been and the struggle ahead. Look up to see where you are going and take another step, then another, and with every step you take you'll be that much closer to where you are intended to be.

When this whole pandemic thing is over do not forget who and what some are doing to help others get through this. Do not ignore the good feeling you get when you see good replacing evil. Look to those generations before us that went through really tough times and instead of folding up they forged ahead and while they were at it, ended up saving the world. If we go through all this and fail to learn the lessons that came with it, all the suffering we experience today will pale in comparison to the next time.

Be well.