4 Reasons You’re Going To Be Fine

Yes. We get it. The Coronavirus has us all scared. Well… Most of us.

[This article was originally published here.]

This post is just a quick reminder that despite how bad things look right now… You are going to be fine.

Here are 4 reasons why:

1. Bad Shit Happens All The Time

Great cities have been burnt to the ground. Yet, we still stand strong as a species.

Look at our past, as an entire species. The threats we have faced and overcame as a whole:

• Hurricanes
• Genocides
• Famines
• Global war
• And predators of all kinds

Today it is a virus that forces self-isolation. It is sudden and scary, but it is well within our capacities to overcome. Look this challenge in the face and feel strong as the species you are. We will make it.

2. Beyond Our Species, You — Yourself — Are A Champion

We are all capable of overcoming great challenges.

We like to imagine we are all fragile little butterflies, greatly affected by the slightest change of wind direction. While there may be some truth to that, we are also capable of being the steady rocks that the waves of life can crash upon again and again without moving an inch. We have all taken some pretty big hits in our lives and we kept going. We’ve handled setbacks and passed every test life has placed in front of us (in one way or another). If you are here today, reading this, you, individually, are a champion. Be your own example in these trying times.

3. To Live is to Suffer, to Survive is to find some Meaning in the Suffering

How long was I in isolation?

The greatest moments of learning and finding meaning in life are through our suffering. It has a way of putting our lives — past, present, and future — into perspective. It helps us to see what is truly important. Take this time to listen to your suffering and take heed to its lessons. Nietzsche may have isolated himself on purpose to become the great philosopher he became. We are all given a great opportunity here through external forces to be the same.

4. Anicca — This Too Shall Pass

A Buddhist monk before the coronavirus, and the same monk during the coronavirus.

Anicca is the main principle behind Vipassana meditation. The meditation that Buddha used to reach enlightenment. It means that everything is impermanent. Everything changes. Nothing stays the same. Pain eventually fades as anger does. Every dark night ends with a rising sun. Yes. We may struggle and suffer in life, but even that will one day end. Find solace in this one irrefutable and universal truth: This too shall pass.

With these four simple, yet profound, ideas, I hope you know now… you will be fine.

All the best in these difficult times.