I saw this post that my dear friend Anu had shared on her FB timeline and I immediately wanted to share it with all my blog readers because this is just what we need – a different perspective !!. For the past 60 odd days, the world is locked down to varying degrees, businesses and employment are staring at a bleak couple of years and we are dealing with a huge number of deaths by Corona Virus. Reading about what people born in 1900s had to face provides the much needed perspective to deal with what we have on our hands.
Various strains of the Corona Virus have been here in the past, one new strain is here now and different strains will be there in the future. All talks of a vaccine are good and every effort towards making a vaccine is welcome but we need to understand that there will always be some other virus/bacteria/bomb/alien attacks that will put us in a difficult situation. Its just about learning to take these things in your stride and keep moving forward till the bullet meant for you leaves its chamber.
Perspective is indeed everything !!
#Perspective is everything
For a small amount of perspective at this moment, imagine you were born in 1900. When you are 14, World War I starts, and ends on your 18th birthday with 22 million people killed. Later in the year, a Spanish Flu epidemic hits the planet and runs until you are 20. Fifty million people die from it in those two years. Yes, 50 million.
When you’re 29, the Great Depression begins. Unemployment hits 25%, global GDP drops 27%. That runs until you are 33. The country nearly collapses along with the world economy. When you turn 39, World War II starts. You aren’t even over the hill yet.
When you’re 41, the United States is fully pulled into WWII. Between your 39th and 45th birthday, 75 million people perish in the war and the Holocaust kills six million. At 52, the Korean War starts and five million perish.
At 64 the Vietnam War begins, and it doesn’t end for many years. Four million people die in that conflict. Approaching your 62nd birthday you have the Cuban Missile Crisis, a tipping point in the Cold War. Life on our planet, as we know it, could well have ended. Great leaders prevented that from happening.
As you turn 75, the Vietnam War finally ends. Think of everyone on the planet born in 1900. How do you survive all of that? A kid in 1985 didn’t think their 85 year old grandparent understood how hard school was. Yet those grandparents (and now great grandparents) survived through everything listed above.
Perspective is an amazing art. Let’s try and keep things in perspective. Let’s be smart, help each other out, and we will get through all of this. In the history of the world, there has never been a storm that lasted. This too, shall pass.
Instagr.am/historic
READ THIS AND PONDER
#TogetherInIt
Via Divya Nawale
Dear Malu, perspective is one thing. But the real fact is when you can do nothing about things happening (except probably cursing or crying) why to bother.?
Some people are unable to handle these things so a different perspective helps. 🙂
Great post about how it was for some during the 1900’s Thank you for posting this.