State of Siege
“When a war breaks out, people say: "It's too stupid; it can't last long." But though a war may well be "too stupid," that doesn't prevent its lasting. Stupidity always carries doggedly on […]”.
“All that a man could win in the game of plague and life was knowledge and memory”.
Albert Camus, The plague.
Sometimes, we must live through exceptional events. Events that will likely be written in History books. Events that leave their mark on entire generations.
They are contexts where the level of uncertainty is ruthless. We do not have a clue about what is going to happen, for how long, nor how it is going to affect us as individuals, as a group or as a society. They are times of change. They are times of chaos.
So?
Dealing with a chaotic context can be crushing. Although we never know what the future holds, I stand by a few rules:
Before things get better (and they definitely will), it is almost certain that they will get worse. Maybe way worse.
If they do not break us (and, unfortunately, they sometimes can break us), these shared experiences make us grow. They make us stronger, more adaptable, more autonomous, more empathetic. They make us better as individuals and as a group.
By keeping a winning attitude, commitment, drive, collaborative spirit, fluid communication, common sense and hope we can adapt ourselves, radically and suddenly, to nearly every change in our context.
We can not choose the times that we live in. But, to a great extent, we can choose our fellow travellers. Surround yourself with a group of people with whom you feel ready to face the unknown.