Reflections on March 2020

Hey patrons,

We have finally reached the end of this long decade that will simply be referred to as “March 2020” from here on out.  Finally.

What a wild month it’s been, huh?  I’m sure that all of you have been impacted in some shape or form by all this, so I think we’re all on the same page here when I say that the events of this month have been quite… unprecedented.

I wanted to briefly share three thoughts/lessons that come to mind when I think of this month, as I feel that they help me frame all of these hazy moments into something more concrete.  They are more notes to myself than notes to anyone else, but maybe you’ll find them interesting or useful.  All right, here goes.

(1) Suffering is relative; what you think is super painful is inconsequential to another.

The spectrum of suffering varies wildly depending on who you are, and where you’re at in life.  This month has made this abundantly clear.

For example, there’s a population of folks that are in absolute shock and fear about how much they lost in the stock market.  Their biggest pain resides in the fact that March 2020 has wiped away over 25-30% of their retirement portfolios.

However, many of these folks still have their salaries, and are earning a paycheck every 2 weeks as they work remotely at home.

But consider another person that is actually losing his sole source of income – his salary or hourly wage – with two children he has to provide for.  Perhaps he was working at a restaurant that had to close down as a result of everything.  He could care less about what’s happening in the market right now – he is worried about how the hell he’s going to pay for groceries, health insurance, etc.

Both are suffering (and may even experience the same psychological and physiological sensations that accompany suffering), but the person with the salaried gig is objectively in a better position than the one that is facing real poverty.

What you perceive as suffering may in reality just be an inconvenience that hasn’t been given the proper time to make itself known as such.  Be more compassionate and sympathetic to the plight of others instead of thinking your suffering is representative of everyone else’s.

(2) No one is as independent as they think they are.

We live in a society that touts personal resilience and a commitment to independence.

“I built my own path to success!”

“I did it myself!”

“I don’t need anyone but myself to thrive in this world.”

Well, try telling yourself that when you walk into a grocery store and all the produce is gone.  Or if the restaurant you frequented no longer has its doors open.

In today’s age of abundance, we have acclimated to a reality where all our basic needs are reliably covered, and we don’t have to think twice about whether or not those things will be there for us.  When we walk into a grocery store to see a stocked shelf, we don’t take a moment to thank the intricate network of farmers, suppliers, and distributors that are necessary to have those things there.  Instead, we just throw what we need into the cart, go down the checklist, and get the fuck outta there.

We quite literally need other people not just to succeed, but to carry out our day-to-day lives.  This fact is hidden behind a fat “Add to Cart” button on Amazon that reliably delivers you stuff, but when you start noticing that this button is suddenly gone from everything you need, you’ll realize that behind every shiny user interface is a group of humans that are working tirelessly to get you what you need.

(3) I don’t know shit, and it seems like no one else knows shit either.

There are some people that will tell you this pandemic will all be over by some specific date.  But these may also be the same people that never bothered to search for “coronavirus” in their browsers until the start of this month.

There are some people that will say they predicted this all along.  But these may also be the same people that thought ebola was going to be just as bad.

The reality is that no one knows shit – it’s just that some people are better at pretending to know than others.  If anything, perhaps this pandemic can help us be more humble, less pompous, and more willing to work with others to figure things out together.  Of course, it could just as easily descend to scapegoating, blaming other ethnic groups, and violence, but the hope is that we will come out of this a bit more on the collaborative side of things.

The only thing we can be certain about is that nothing is certain.  How will we face this fact?  Will we see it as an opportunity for intellectual humility, or will we double down on ignorance?

If we embrace uncertainty, the path is clearer.  But if we fear uncertainty, the path looks bleak.

Let’s just hope that a sense of wisdom prevails – both for us and for the future generations to come.

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Hope you all are well, patrons.  Thanks so much for everything, and onward we go.

-Lawrence