How To Live In A Post-Corona World

Life, in and of itself, brings us twists and turns and enough shock value to last us a lifetime but what life does accomplish, even for the uninitiated, is always and never fails to do is provide opportunities to learn, to turn, to grow, and to evolve.

Almost a year ago, I have left the corporate and government contracting world. More aptly put, I ran out of the building screaming as if I was on fire. I had simply had enough of that kind of life. I was stressed. I was angry. I was discontented. And I was simply unhappy. So I took a little break and went into the world of staffing and recruiting, which I found out within one week was the same kind of work I ran away from less than a year prior. I suppose if you need a visual, I was the guy that walked through the revolving door in an office building but I never get in nor do I ever get out. I just keep going around in a circle. I was right back where I started just on a smaller scale but the stress, the anger, and the lack of fulfillment was still palpable for me.

Unbeknownst to me, somewhere across the world, someone was coughing, complaining of fever, and joint pain, someone was losing their sense of smell and taste, someone was dying. While I was working diligently to build a new career, “it” was happening, “it” was spreading, “it” was reaching out its hand to touch another life. Not more than a month from that, as I sat at my desk at the tail end of a really good day, my boss called me into her office. She was unable to look me in the eye and I instantly knew what this meant. Within several uncomfortable seconds, I was being laid off due to budget cuts relating to the Coronavirus outbreak. Life provided the twist and turn. I had to go home and tell my wife that I didn’t have a job, which also meant I didn’t have a check.

Now I had to see the opportunity in this. I was sitting at home with no immediate prospect for money. I couldn’t get anyone from the Unemployment department on the phone. And I was getting multiple phone calls saying that my loved ones were either sick or had died from complications relating to something called Covid-19.

And here is where many Americans find themselves. Americans just like me. And some in much worst circumstances. Now the vicious cycle begins.

According to a U.S. Chamber of Commerce poll on http://www.debt.org, “approximately 43% of small businesses likely will close permanently within the final six months of 2020. When July began, nearly 100 companies with more than $100M in debt had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute, which includes “department stores, hotels, cruise lines, rental car companies, airlines, restaurants, and movie theaters.”

Even in that, you can clearly see that the majority of the activities you enjoyed outside of your home and your home state were in the crosshairs of this pandemic. That means besides maybe a drive to the grocery store, or a nice walk through the community, you were relegated to the four walls of home. Home might be where the heart is but it is also where the overwhelming thoughts are, and the stack of hospital bills are, and the frenetic energy of children not able to go to school or day care are, and where you are reminded that so many could lose everything if positive change doesn’t come quickly. That isn’t likely to be a remedy provide by your local unemployment department.

Statistics complied from The Pew Research Center (pew research.org – Rakesh Kochhar ) indicated that more than 20.5 million Americans were unemployed in the month of May alone and the unemployment rate skyrocketed to 13% in the same month. This was the second highest rate in the post-World War II era. These numbers are greater than the Great Recession (December 2007-June 2009). Add to this to the threat of infection, short term illness, and perhaps even death, this resembles a “worst case scenario” to most folks. That’s what a world with coronavirus in it looks like. But even with all that I have personally experienced, I still possess a modicum of optimism that this will not last forever, that the state we’re in is not our new normal. So what can we expect on the other side of this pandemic?

1. Take Stock Of Your Situation
   I’m not a big advocate of getting all of my news from the news so to speak. The local news can be discouraging, confusing, and downright scary. You may hear a round of new statistics, Coronavirus cases, unemployment rises and dips, and the accompanying political rhetoric as well. But what is your situation? What does your financial situation say? Have you been adept at saving money? Does your family employ wise spending habits? Many of us are forced to be reactive now that we’re faced with unemployment, bankruptcy and our local boutiques and Mom and Pops store closing for good. But what is your specific situation? Do you have enough savings or emergency funds to last your household three months? Six months? Nine months? A year? Look at your finances rather than the television set and assess where you specifically are. If you never paid that any attention, now is an ideal time for a full update.
2. Develop a Strategy
   Now that you can clearly see where you are financially, what is the next step? I’m suggesting, from personal experience, develop a strategy. My wife and I sat down after we combed through a sea of bills and debts and after we finished lamenting our precarious situation, we started to craft a plan. Since no one (and I emphasize NO ONE) truly knows how long this pandemic will adversely affect us, we wanted to get a broad view of how long we could survive with all these changes in mind. If we had to use our savings, how long would that last? Can we survive on three square meals a week? Will we have to eat peanut butter and jelly every day until? Should we become temporary vegetarians until we can afford meat again? We thought about almost every scenario. Get some paper and a pen and sit down with your family if you haven’t already. Tighten up your boot straps. Cut out the unnecessary items no matter how much you love and NEED them. What can you do reasonably without? Include that in your plans. You might have to adopt a minimalist mentality until this storm passes.
3. Think Contingencies
   Even though you are probably the best hairdresser in your city or the best travel agent in your town, you may not be able to use those incredible skills. I asked myself the same question that I am asking you today: What do you do when you can’t do what you absolutely love to do? To some, even the very thought is torturous but it’s a reality for us in this season. I have a nearly 20 year background in Administrative and Operations along with being a creative writer and author for more than three decades. What if I can’t do any of those things anymore? What if there just isn’t a place for that while we are quarantined? I began to consider how can I make that plan we crafted together with the family work. Can I cast aside ego and bag groceries at the local supermarket where my neighbors will surely see me? Am I willing to work entry level in an essential job for which I have no background? Logistics? Construction? Sanitation? Is there any place that I would not work until we can get out of this? That might be the biggest tip I can give you today. It is indeed the deal breaker!
4. Do The Impossible
   Do the impossible? What’s that? After decades of coaching my clients and helping them make ground-breaking decisions, I have rarely ever taken my own advice. Shameful I know! Why was I even working in that recruiting job where I had to be father, babysitter, and camp counselor to young adults to senior age 17-70 (true story!)? Why did I even apply for and take the assignment with the State Government? What drew me to a place where I pretty much knew I would not enjoy it long term? Most times, at least for me anyway, it was financially motivated. I, like many, tried to find the job that paid the most and had the best benefits. I left out a crucial requirement: A job that I would gladly leap out of bed for every day because you loved I that much. Very rare but congratulations if you have found your dream job. These last six months have been wrought with twists and turns without a doubt. I can write a book on this and I probably will down the line. But I learned a lesson that I wouldn’t trade for anything. I can do what I thought was impossible. What is that thing that if you could do it for free, you would do it gladly without complaint? What gives you that kind of joy and fulfillment? What is your dream job? I believe I found mines. (I may have found three of them.) What is stopping you from fulfilling that dream? Is it your geographical location? Is it your own imagination? Is it financial in nature? Is it just simple fear of failure? I don’t know which it is for you but the pressures of life can create the brightest of diamonds.

Life can be so fleeting. The last six months have taught me that if nothing else. I simply refused to let my life be a cautionary tale of what happens when one denies themselves their dream because they fear being uncomfortable. My old mentor (God rest his soul) used this quote all the time and I believe it applies very well in this context.

“The graveyard is the richest place on earth, because it is here that you will find all the hopes and dreams that were never fulfilled, the books that were never written, the songs that were never sung, the inventions that were never shared, the cures that were never discovered, all because someone was too afraid to take that first step, keep with the problem, or determined to carry out their dream.” – Les Brown

I am determined to live in a post-Corona world by living the best life possible. I made plenty of excuses. I used many alibis. People all around us are feeling the impact of this new normal and then there are many around us that are re-inventing themselves and using the flood waters of adversity to rise above their circumstances. Don’t wait for the world around you to make you change. Change your world now! I hope you found this article helpful and insightful. Thanks for listening.

Weak Made Strong

Inspiration can often come from the strangest places. Today, the inspiration came from an unexpected place.

So the weak person, the brother or sister for whom Christ died, is ruined by your knowledge. Now when you sin like this against brothers and sisters and wound their weak conscience, you are sinning against Christ. Therefore, if food causes my brother or sister to fall, I will never again eat meat, so that I won’t cause my brother or sister to fall. (I Corinthians 8:11-13)

Although I am free from all and not anyone’s slave, I have made myself a slave to everyone, in order to win more people. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win Jews; to those under the law, like one under the law — though I myself am not under the law to win those under the law. To those who are without the law, like one without the law — though I am not without God’s law but under the law of Christ — to win those without the law. To the weak I became weak, in order to win the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that I may by every possible means save some. Now I do all this because of the gospel, so that I may share in the blessings. (I Corinthian’s 9:19-23)

For you were called to be free, brothers and sisters; only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love. For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement: Love your neighbor as yourself. (Galatians 5:13-14)

The verses are a precedence for how believers should treat others, and properly address the weaknesses of fellow believers. In today’s climate, when such weaknesses are identified, we mock and demean them and call them sheep. (Which animal would we be then? Just asking.)

We talk about liberty and freedom like they’re punchlines or a recitation of what someone told us and not what we fully understand. It’s amusing to see so many fight for a history that they don’t even want to understand. They’re so uncomfortable with it that they can’t even engage in discussions about it and they’d rather you “let it go” and “get over it”. (You guys seem the Vauxhh Booker video yet?)

I’ll even go one step further and say that many that claim to believe actually don’t because they said “yes” to a Savior and a faith because they hoped to have a better life and a cushion perhaps, for future behavior, and not because they were in danger and recognized a dire need to be saved. None of this is the Gospel. Think that’s where the problem starts and ends.

How it’s it possible that there’s so many of “us” claiming Jesus is our Lord and Savior but we prefer YouTube conspiracy videos and 24 hr news cycles over reading (and living) His words? How did we get so comfortable attacking our friends in our comment sections just to justify our position, without a thought for the damage we inflict? We’re caught at the strait gate and didn’t even know it. (Matthew 7:13)

In life and maybe in your upbringing, the stronger sibling is supposed to always protect the weaker sibling because of their love for them. Family is supposed to stand up for each other! Family lays down our lives for each other. (John 15:13) Is your stance or position that important, life and death, at the end of the day? Or do you just see yourself and your wants as higher than that of your neighbor?

In an episode of Big Bang Theory called the Space Probe Disintegration, Sheldon surprisingly tells Leonard that he makes compromises and sacrifices for his roommate all the time, much to Leonard’s shock. He lists not telling Leonard that he had lettuce in his teeth, even though everyone was laughing at him at the lunch table and not telling him that he knows how to drive all these years (a task he believed gave Leonard’s life purpose and meaning). At the end of the day, Sheldon calls its sacrifice but neither cost him anything of consequence. Although humorous in that sense, if freedom causes our fellow man to be bound or wounded, would you, at least, consider this may be a misuse of our good fortune.

So before we press “Send”, let’s rethink that next post or article share to let everybody know who you are. (They may never confront you but trust me, they know who you are. If they didn’t before, they do now.) Reconsider that next comment before it goes live. We’re in-fighting about facemasks, beaches, rights, telling “them” to clean up their own community when they want to talk about racial injustice in ‘Merica and people are still dying at a feverish place. Much of what you are hearing is not about country or freedom or liberty. It’s an anti-Gospel and anti-Christ sentiment because His love and His Word is absent and the love of this world is the impetus….We can pretend we didn’t see the Vauhxx Booker video, or conveniently forget about Breonna Taylor, or hope this George Floyd situation just goes away so you can get back to normal. You might not even want to remember Trayvon Martin. You have that right. We have liberty but many of us just don’t know how to wield this powerful weapon without destroying others. The Apostle Paul is teaching us today.

As normal, my intent isn’t to offend anyone. Think of this as me protecting you.

What’cha Gonna Do About It?

Fam, before we start talking, I had to tell you something. I can’t express enough how overwhelming the outpouring of support and encouragement has been the past couple days. Mirror Time doesn’t go without you guys so I appreciate the momentum and the subscriptions. I’m in uncharted territory but it’s a lot easier when I know I’m not alone. Thank you very much!!

So……. how are you guys doing? I assume you’re safe and well and not infected by Corona but how are you guys doing actually? Several of my friends have been reaching out and even park in my living room, full of questions such as: “How do I help you personally? What can I do to stand with you and show solidarity? What do you need from me?” These are questions from people who racked with guilt, uneasiness, and a lot of anxiety. Watching the local news, I’m sure, doesn’t help their emotional well being.

A feat all by itself I’ve been mainly silent for the last three weeks. When you are faced with questions like these, I can’t just shrug my shoulders and mumble “I don’t know”. My long, thought out answer every time I responded contained one very important and understated word: love.

However, when I speak of this crazy word, I’m not referencing a weapon we use to control people in relationships. It’s also not what we toss out as if checking off a moral box. It’s not the word on your favorite coffee mug about a city or your affinity for pizza. It means so much more than that. The current state of things around us prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that we still don’t understand this very tiny word.

Check this video out. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QIxp9xaEGI&feature=share)

If you took the time to research this, you won’t see references to kissing, hand holding, ring purchasing, or a bouquet of flowers. What you will see is a word that strikes fear into the hearts of men and causes the earth beneath their feet to tremble violently: COMMITMENT. When you stand across from your wonderful soulmate and you say “I do”, commitment is what is implied and expected. When your best friend is in the hospital and they’re staring at the door, waiting for you to walk through it, that’s a commitment expectation. When you realize how much you have compared to the poor soul you’re gawking at, what makes you reach into your pocket or hand them a hot meal and a sincere smile, it’s because of commitment. Let’s unpack that last one.

See, the first two are easy and make sense. Heck, you’ve seen them on television so you know it’s a real thing. I want to talk briefly about the last point because that’s the one that is rarely emphasized or exhibited. Why? Because in those, there is no reasonable expectation of return. A farmer wouldn’t plant seed if he didn’t think he’d gain a harvest to feed his family. He makes an investment expecting some sort of return on his effort, time, and money.

When you give a hot meal to someone that is starving and destitute who is unable to repay you, the sacrifice takes a different tone. You are investing, knowing that you will not recompensed anything from that person or persons. You are simply exhibiting kindness. However……… that’s only partially true. You are not likely to receive anything from that person you are serving but there is a reward. (Cue ominous, suspenseful music)

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. (Colossians 3:23-24)

As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life. (I Timothy 6:17-19)

Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. (Hebrews 13:16)

When you hear or read about biblical love, whether it be an innocent that could’ve wielded his mighty power and refused to give his life in exchange for yours or a recurring prerequisite for discipleship that is dependent solely on how we treat each other, commitment is the rubber that meets the road.

Now you, who claim to be bearer of such a great love, examine yourselves in the faith and see if it’s genuine. (2 Corinthians 13:5)

Do you hate your brother or sister? Do you think of your life as more valuable than those whom you feel are beneath you? Is your point more important than Jesus’s name and His Word? Is the God you serve justified in your closed eyes and mouths while injustice happens before you. Clearly, we are not all willing participants but we are all witnesses. Not what are you going to do about it?

When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: fear God and keep his commands, because this is for all humanity. For God will bring every act to judgment, including every hidden thing, whether good or evil. (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)

Here’s another video I want you to check out: