Adversity

When I was a boy of nine or ten, I was walking through the woods with my Father and came upon a large fallen tree.  For some reason, I noticed the rings revealed where the tree had been cut. 

When I asked about it, my father gave me the conventional answer, explaining how the rings of the tree reflected the tree’s age.  Then he expanded that observation in a way I have never been able to forget.  “If you look closely,” he said, “it can also tell you something of the tree’s history.”

Dad pointed to a narrow band near the tree’s center.  “That tells you this was a tough year for this tree.  If you count back the rings and determine the date you will probably find that it was a dry year or that the tree faced some other challenge to its growth.  Conversely, the broad band tells you the tree had a year of expansive growth.”

“But what is most important is the pattern,” he said.  “Broad bands almost invariably follow narrow bands.  That’s because in the dry years and difficult periods the tree had to put its roots down deeper in order to survive.” 

There is no escaping the fact that we are currently facing difficult times.  Today is nothing like yesterday.   A virus we had never heard of a few weeks ago has closed schools, shut down travel, devastated our economy and left us shuttered in our own homes. 

The leaders of some states and major cities have established curfews.  In some states the National Guard has been called out to quarantine significant parts of cities.  

We are being challenged and pushed to the limit.  We can’t help wondering if life as we knew it will ever be the same.

As always, the question is – What do you do about it?  How do we respond?

How do we respond as a nation?  How does our government respond?  More important, how do we respond as families and individuals?

Our response has to begin by understanding the challenge.  Anyone who has been in the military will tell you that you don’t go into battle blind.  We have to understand what we are up against. 

The best estimate at the moment is that 40 to 70 percent of our population will be infected.  Fortunately, most of these people will recover on their own – but many will not.  Those who do not, those who become seriously ill, will severely tax our health care system and our ability to care for them.

And it is not going away soon.  We’re talking months – not days or weeks.  

So what do we do?

First of all, know we will get through this and come out the other side better than we were. 

The last time we faced a challenge of this size was World War II.  It is no accident that we call those who faced that challenge our “greatest generation.”  It is no accident we emerged from that experience as strong as we have ever been.

This battle will require the same degree of shared sacrifice and purpose.  Each of us must take responsibility and do our part. 

The easiest way not to get this virus is to act as if you already have it.  That’s also the easiest way to keep it from spreading.

This means changing fundamental elements of our existence – how we work, shop, play, and entertain ourselves. 

But we are not being asked to do anything we cannot do.  History shows we are always at our best when things are the worst.

Adversity introduces us to our true selves.  We gain courage with every fear we face, strength with every challenge we meet, and confidence with every obstacle we overcome.

Like the tree, we must reach down deep and draw on the best part of ourselves.  That includes not only taking care of ourselves, but also being mindful of those who can not.

The hidden message this virus carries is how close and interdependent we are.  We need each other.  We depend on each other.  There is no way to separate what happens to one from what happens to another. 

Community comes when we recognize the opportunity for service this provides.   Many of our infirm and elderly were isolated before this virus.  They are even more isolated now.  They will be in even greater need as the days and months progress. 

Something as simple as a periodic phone can make a big difference.  A bag of groceries dropped at the doorstop or perhaps an extra serving of a meal we prepared for our families can help keep people alive. 

Is there a prescription that needs to be filled?  Does a neighbor just need to talk?  The longer this crisis continues, the more we will need to reach out to each other any way we safely can.

Dealing with this virus will not be easy, but in a perverse way it provides an unprecedented opportunity to tap into our humanity and reveal the best parts of ourselves.  The greater the challenge, the stiffer the resistance, and more hopeless the situation may seem, the more hopeful the resolution and miraculous the outcome will be.

Henry Ford probably said it best.  “When everything seems to be going against you,” Ford said, “remember that an airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.”