But if we are wise, we know that there's always tomorrow......"
- Bill Withers
Watching the news today is much like watching a train wreck. While you want to stay in tune with what's going on, it always ends with you feeling afraid and hopeless. The media feeds you doom and gloom with every passing story. Fear and outrage may be detrimental but, ironically, they are good for ratings.
While we should be very concerned about the coronavirus, we should not let it paralyze us with fear and hopelessness. Yes, things are bad. I'm not denying that. But are we supposed to bet it all on red and then jump off of the nearest cliff? Of course, not! We need to maintain confidence that we will get through this. We have prevailed from dire circumstances in the past. And we will do the same in this one. This is America, dammit!
The key to getting through this is unity. We, as a country, need to band to together and support one another. Remember that American spirit in the days shortly after the 9/11 attacks? Although we felt beaten and weary, we came together as a country. We picked each other up, dusted one another off and demonstrated to the world that America will indeed get back up every time!
In these trying times, there will surely be frustration and criticism. But try to leave that on the back-burner for now. What we need to do now is focus on getting through this dilemma. The biggest sacrifice for most of us is to remain isolated until this blows over. Trust me, I get it. I'm a social person and I love interacting with people. But I look at this as a minor inconvenience in the overall scheme of things. Let's all try to do our part to help the situation.
Many of us will have plenty of downtime in the upcoming day. Use that time to read a good book or maybe watch that classic movie that you're never seen. If you've meaning to catch up with an old friend but haven't been able to find the time...well, here's a good opportunity to pick up the phone or shoot an email. Take the time to reflect on and appreciate life.
Summing everything up, I'd like to borrow a little inspiration from Jimmy Valvano*. If you don't know who he was, Jimmy was the men's basketball coach for NC State back in the 70's/80's. His story is an incredible one, He transformed his personal tragedy into motivation for countless people. Essentially, while he was in the final days of his cancer fight, he gave one of the most inspirational speeches ever (It touches me so much that I still get emotional every time I think of it). In a nut shell, he basically tells us that no matter what tough times you're going through in life, don't stop fighting and don't ever give up.
Feeling the spirit of Jimmy V, I would ask each of you to keep the faith and to not give up on us! Don't ever give up on America!
kw
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Valvano
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