Making Other Plans

One of my all-time favorite artists is John Lennon. His musical legacy is legendary; his views on politics and peace are well-documented. And he was aptly quoted once saying; "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." And it's so true. 

We are on the second lap of the calendar on this global pandemic. The end might be in sight but we actually have absolutely no idea when that will arrive. I have had my first of two vaccine shots and my second isn't until August. You may still be waiting for your first. Multiply that by seven billion humans and this thing is going to take a while. Please keep wearing your mask!

What is normal?

During the last year or so, I've noticed several trends. There are friends and colleagues who are out of work waiting for the company to call them back. Others are getting adjusted to a life of working from home and having to stay home around the clock. And others are making plans for what happens in their lives. I walked away from a situation that wasn't serving me, and near the end, some may have thought I wasn't serving it. And that is life. 

But the point for me was that I had to make other plans for my life. Whatever bucket you find yourself in right this minute, it isn't easy. My folks always encouraged me to try things as I grew up. If I had told them I wanted to be a clown in the circus, they would have told me to be the best clown that ever existed. But it's not up to others to break down those barriers to our plans. It's up to us. Others can help, but we have to write the book or build the wall or paint the canvas ourselves. 

We are not born with fear

Fear is something we learn over a lifetime of shortfalls and mistakes. We think it protects and guides us but all it does is stop us. I have an Olympic gold medal in fear. It's easier to blame circumstances or age or finances or a myriad other reasons as to why we don't follow our gut to reach our dream. 

If you have a seed of an idea, share it with someone you trust and ask for feedback. If the idea is taking shape, reach out and ask for help. If you have never truly asked for help - I can promise you two things. It will be scary at first and you will get better at it. 

 Life happens whether we make plans or not. 

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What Can We Do?

When I launched this website 12 years ago, it was called One Mann’s Opinion. And since then, I’ve published 1500 posts which have all been my opinion.

As we all grapple with a deadly foe, no matter religion, country, wealth, status, gender, or age, there are a lot of opinions flying around. And yes, this piece is my opinion, so feel free to carry on or read on.

Media v Message

Through information, misinformation, and noise, there is one current opinion of the scientific community that seems to have significant weight – we don’t know how this is going to go and the only current way to stop it is through a yet-to-be formulated vaccine.

A vaccine takes years to formulate, test, develop, and distribute, but the scientific community has been given the all-points bulletin to accelerate that while countries’ licensing boards have opened the doors. Several dozen companies have identified a vaccine candidate, and some have begun human testing.

When a valid vaccine is developed, it will take 12-18 months to produce a global supply, so let’s let the brightest minds of science work on that for all of us while we do our part.

In the Meantime…

In short, we need to stay home and when we are out, keep our distance, work together, show profound kindness toward each other, and understand no one is immune. No one.

None of us can guarantee we won’t be laid off. None of us can guarantee this will be a short wait. The only thing we can do is avoid physical contact with each other to flatten the curve. It has been proven in small cases around the world already. It won’t eradicate the virus, but it could slow its scourge.

There is no Spin

Some have reminded us of historic events like this, but it would be difficult to find one this far-reaching. There is no room for ill-advised or ill-informed opinions, especially from world leaders, but that hasn’t stopped a certain “leader of the free world” to continue to spin his opinion which will continue to endanger lives.

Leaders need to lead, and currently, we all need to be leaders. There is no room for hoarding or selfishness; but there is plenty of room for caring and carefulness. Many have opined this will forever change human existence. Some of us feel it has already.

Be safe. Be careful. Be kind. Be human. Namaste.
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