Perspective is Everything

I don’t post stories that I haven’t written myself, but this popped up on my social media today and I thought it beautifully put things in perspective for me, so I’m making an exception. After reading it, one can’t help but wonder….what am I complaining about? These people had it far worse than we did. I don’t ever recall hearing my grandparents moaning about the times they lived through. My great grandmother died of the Spanish Flu. My grandfather fought in the 1916 Rising / War of Independence for Ireland and was interred in a concentration camp in England and lived through a civil war. Never moaned about it. (okay, so some folks/countries had it worse than others, but I think you get the point).

“Imagine you were born in 1900. When you’re 14, World War I begins and ends when you’re 18 with 22 million dead. Soon after a global pandemic, the Spanish Flu, appears, killing 50 million people. And you’re alive and 20 years old. When you’re 29 you survive the global economic crisis that started with the collapse of the New York Stock Exchange, causing inflation, unemployment and famine.

When you’re 33 years old the nazis come to power. When you’re 39, World War II begins and ends when you’re 45 years old with 70+ million dead. In the Holocaust 6 million Jews die.

When you’re 52, the Korean War begins. When you’re 64, the Vietnam War begins and ends when you’re 75. A child born in 1985 thinks his grandparents have no idea how difficult life is, but they have survived several wars and catastrophes.

Today we have all the comforts in a new world, amid a new pandemic. But we complain because we need to wear masks. We complain because we must stay confined to our homes where we have food, electricity, running water, wifi, even Netflix! None of that existed back in the day. But humanity survived those circumstances and never lost their joy of living. A small change in our perspective can generate miracles. We should be thankful that we are alive. We should do everything we need to do to protect and help each other”.

(originally posted by @NowYouKnowPhilippines / DidYouKnow? on FB)

The moral of the story, wear a mask, social distance, practice good hygiene, listen to science and doctors (not quackery) and we can get through this together….and hopefully not exhaust the content on Netflix in the process.