Pan-demic?

Plan-demic?

Scam-demic?

It is now largely academic, because the threats, warnings and fear have now become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Realities, such as the fact that Corona is a virus with a 99% survival rate, are now irrelevant because enough people have spoken the new normal into existence. In times like these, where those who died-with may be counted in with those who died-from, then truth becomes irrelevant. The virus has been deemed an existential threat that requires us to uproot the very foundations of our society because enough people say that it is.

This is a simple recognition of reality. Corona did not fear people into submission. Corona was merely the key in the lock that imprisoned a population that has been steadily conditioned to fear its own shadow and deny its own power.

It is true that not everyone has surrendered to the fear, and maybe if you are reading this then you are one of those people. That is great news, for you. And in order to try to help you stay that way I would like to recommend that you start to prioritise strength. It can be compassionate and big-hearted strength if you like, so long as it is strength.

By strength, of course, I mean physical fitness through exercise and good nutrition. But by itself this will not be enough, for emotional and mental strength are going to become more and more necessary.

Of course, the big problem that we have is that many peoples emotional and mental strength has been undermined. You can see this in the ease with which many people now take offence and how words are increasingly deemed as violence. Many people are no longer interested in hearing any point of view that challenges their own, even though they only came to their own point of view that morning and will probably have a different one by lunchtime.

Things like the undermining of national pride have done great damage to peoples mental and emotional strength, as has the inability of certain sections of society to accept the results of legitimate, democratic elections. Many key members of our society, people with voices and influence, walk around all day long telling others how thick, stupid, and backward they are, without considering or even caring what negative effects this might have. This is all part of a concerted effort to remove ordinary people’s ability to choose what is right for them. The end result of this is a weakened population who will do almost anything to feel ‘safe’. Note the emphasis on the word feel…

But the results of this flight to safety are starting to come in, and they are not pretty. For by prioritising safety people have become fragile.

The common antidote to this is resilience, a form of mental, emotional, spiritual, or structural strength which enables you withstand storms, when they come. Resilience has been all the rage in recent years, but I would suggest that, in truth, resilience is just a fancy word for stubbornness, and a refusal to change. I think we can do better than that, so instead of the false choice between fragility and resilience I recommend that we try to be strong by being Anti-fragile.

Anti-fragile is a word made up by the wise and astute Nassim Nicholas Taleb. To be anti-fragile means that you don’t just withstand shocks and surprises, you actually draw strength from them.

Now the details of this idea of this idea are deep and complex, covered at great length in Taleb’s book of the same name. But the principle is simple – if you are Anti-fragile then when the wind blows you get stronger, and the stronger the wind the stronger you get.

In order to start down this road, conjure up in your mind the image of a tree.

What is the most important part of this tree?

Is it the fruit or the leaves?

The branches, or the trunk?

All these might be important, but the most important part of the tree, and I know that you know this, is the roots.

The strength of the tree, its ability to flex in the wind is found in its roots.

And as it is for the tree, so it is for you. Your ability to flex in the wind is found in your roots. How deep do these go?

Well, if you want to be Anti-fragile your roots have to go all the way down into the earth. You can do this through visualisation exercises, but the most rooted thing you can do is to know who you are and what you are here for. To take even one small step on this journey is to send your roots deep down into the earth, to completely accept the fact that you are present here and now, at this time, for a reason.

Everyone alive right now is alive for a reason. No mistake has been made, you are here for this time, not just to endure or tolerate the craziness of it but to find a way to be you. This is not a privilege reserved for certain sections of the community. Everyone no matter their circumstances, age, race, or gender is here, right now, at this time, to do their thing. This is not a time in history reserved for one group in society. No-one should be stepping back. Everyone can step up.

So when the next storm comes – either in your personal life, or in the world at large (and we should not have to wait too long for that) feel the storm and identify with the storm. Rather than trying to resist the winds see them as a window of opportunity to hoist your sails and get moving. Breathe into this. It is a state of mind more than anything else. The fact that your direction of travel is likely to be different from others does not matter – its all about drawing strength from the wild winds around you, not just battening down the hatches until they pass.

Strong winds create tall trees. But only if your roots are deep.

Photo by Jason Weingardt on Unsplash