Choosing Hope
We need to take a hard look at our reactions, and our frame of mind in the midst of difficult times. When the world is chaotic, we need to provide a tangible sense of hope and kindness.
Stressed out? Don’t know what to do? Your future outcomes are both unknown and unknowable? Right now it’s difficult to even identify relevant variables to monitor in the midst of the social chaos. These times we live in are filled with true ambiguity.
Welcome to “Level 4” uncertainty…
In my new book I go into great depth about the role of uncertainty, and the way it affects or lives for better and for worse. I have had Parkinson’s for 9 years now, but the memory of my initial diagnoses is still fresh in my mind. Hearing a doctor tell me that my life would never be the same was quite a shock, and a very real confrontation with a whole new reality. I could do nothing but face a blurry future. At that point I had no real concept of what life post-diagnoses would even look like. My uncertainty meter dropped strait down to the all-time low of level 4. This level of uncertainty means anything is possible. Things could become total chaos, of course brand new perspectives and wonderful innovations can be born in the midst of chaos. But simply not knowing what is coming up around the corner can be totally frightening.
Our society is going through a new level 4 event. There are now 360 degrees of possible outcomes to this Covid-19 pandemic, but we all really just want to know about the most important outcome…ours! If we could just narrow down a few variables like: How long will it last? What will I do about staying healthy? What about employment, debts, and finances? When will things get back to normal?
Fortunately, we have proven “thought models” in our modern tool set that we can implement to begin to make sense of this craziness. But first we have to be honest and come to terms with the tough realities around us. Italy is in shambles. China is shrugging all responsibility. Many Americans are sick and dying, hospitals are overloaded, there is a real shortage of vital equipment, while politics gets in the way as usual. Most of us are left at home concerned about our own well-being and the future outlook for our precious families.
Face it, our lives will never be the same. They were not after 9/11. Almost an entire generation has grown up taking off their shoes at airports. TSA has become part of our “new normal” in air travel. Widespread government surveillance has become a given. Not to mention the long term ongoing fallout between the western world, and our neighbors in the Middle East. The fact is that history defining events like 9/11 do not simply clear up without repercussions to individuals and society. But, just because we are obviously entering difficult times again, doesn’t mean we must become “difficult people”.
Victor Frankl, the famous psychologist, taught us that we humans have a unique “response-ability”. What really separates us from other species is our unique gift and ability to take pause and think through our responses to any negative stimulus. We can choose to respond to frustrating circumstances in almost any way we think best. Victor Frankl notes that during the wretched days of WWII, the prisoners of the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp who willingly chose to return kindness to the evil guards were in fact the very prisoners who tended to survive the horrific environment. The great lesson from these survivors is that attitude, and the willingness to rise above suffering to maintain kindness, are really more important than anything else we can do to prolong our existence. I know my odds of surviving the Covid-19 pandemic are already a lot better than surviving Auschwitz. How much more so if I choose to keep a level head and stay positive and kind in my attitude? We uniquely have the power to take the energy of our current crisis and direct it in a positive fashion to come out ahead. Remember, the only thing that you can actually control in your life is your attitude.
Focus on the positives and be willing to adapt to new methods of going about daily life. I have already become more accepting of the rise of technology in my life. In the first few weeks of confinement in my home; I have attended church services and Bible studies, participated in a boxing class, joined several sessions of yoga, and worked out at the gym all online. The current stay at home orders will no doubt have a lasting impact on the way we all connect with each other going into the future, to be honest, that kinda’ throws older generation out of their comfort zones.
Stay positive. Give yourself a true pause between the negative stimuli you encounter and your response. There is so much more available to you than merely “fight or flight”. Think about helping someone else – how can you make a difference? How can you nurture hope in those around you who are showing signs of stress? It sounds cliché, and that is why we often fail to try, but consistent acts of kindness really are what make the difference in our quality of life.
My book is really geared towards those Parkinson’s people who haven’t given up hope yet. My desire is that you will take the time you have left on earth, difficult as it may be with the added frustrations of a degenerative disease, and really make a difference in the lives of those closest to you by choosing an aim much higher then merely getting through life with your teeth clinched. I want you to rise above apathy, and become much more then you thought you could, especially in tough times.
Stay strong and hopeful, God’s speed,
Greg Ritscher
Be sure to post in the comments below if you have some thoughts you want to share with everyone. Also, check out my new book, I wrote it for all of us!
