My friend Terri and I were talking the other night about how much time we waste worrying about things that haven't even happened yet. The media is terrifying people with the doom and gloom of what MIGHT be ahead. What if we lose our jobs? What if this recession becomes as bad as the Great Depression? What if we lose the security we have now?
I'm not saying none of this could happen. I'm just saying there will be plenty of time to worry about it AFTER it happens... why ruin all the perfectly good days we have up until then? Who knows how many really GREAT days we have ahead! I'm all for making the most of them. PLUS... I grew up watching the Walton's. Sure, times were tough but they seemed to make it through okay. They had each other, and times were SO tough that they realized that was all they really needed.
Things could change. It could happen. But I'd like to think that we are a resilient people that can make the best of any situation. Worrying about what COULD happen is always so much worse than actually going through it. I don't know how many people I've heard say that if they had known ahead of time what they had to face they would never have thought they could make it. But once things are in motion, we find out maybe we're not as weak as we think we are. Maybe we aren't victims... maybe we're overcomers! Maybe we're about to find out that the very best days are ahead for us because we get to see what we're really made of!
Please understand I am certainly not trying to minimalize the pain some people have already gone through with losing their jobs or their homes. And I'd be lying if I said thoughts of terror didn't flit through my head from time to time when I think about the fact that if our company goes down, Leo and I BOTH lose our jobs. I understand it could happen, and I understand it could be hard. I know there is pain involved. I just have great hope that we can rise above it. I have great hope that if all we have left is a shiny dime in our pocket and a family we love, it will be enough. It doesn't have to be easy for us to find our way through. It doesn't have to be easy for us to live a great life.
I realize it's good for ratings and maybe sells more papers, but Doom & Gloom is not the place I want to live. I choose to believe that no matter what happens, we will find great things ahead.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
For me, "Why ruin all perfectly good days we have up until then?"
is the important part of this post and I couldn't agree more.
Tracy, I feel this way too. I do wonder if it's easier to feel this way when I haven't lost my job. But I just think America in general could use a little understanding about living in times of lean as well as of plenty. I'd really like to be a better giver. As an American I'm already so much richer than the majority of people in many other countries. I'd like to learn to handle that "wealth" better so I could share it more. And that's something I'm hoping comes out of this crisis for all of us.
Post a Comment