What will you be remembered for when this is all over? What will you remember when this is all over? Those two questions keep bouncing around in my head while dealing with our new reality. What is the big picture lesson that we can all learn from this?
Maybe the take-home lesson from all of this is NOT something new. Maybe that lesson is one that we have known for centuries...
Let me tell you a little about my email inbox in the morning. First, it is COMPLETELY out of control. The amount of email that hits my inbox seemingly every day is crazy. For years, every single morning, I would avoid even opening my email app... It was guaranteed to be a rabbit hole that always seemed to start my day off terribly. Imagine the first thing that you do in the morning was look at the list of fires that you had to put out that day... That's a really rough way to begin your day!
Times have changed a bit for me, recently. Now, there are a couple emails that prioritize opening and reading every morning. After I have read them, I feel that I am ready to tackle the day! About 2 months ago, I subscribed to The Daily Stoic from Ryan Holiday. It is a gold mine! It is the first email that I look for every morning. The majority of these emails focus on the ancient Stoic philosophy and how it relates to the trials and tribulations of today.
Earlier this week, one of the emails focused on Marcus Aurelius. Rather than focus on the material things in life, Aurelius believed that we should be focusing on "good character, good intentions, and good actions." This is what it is all about to me and maybe, just maybe, this is the lesson that we need to take away from this time in our lives. How crazy would it be to live through this and not learn anything from it? We have to learn from this moment in time because it too shall pass.
Life will, eventually, return to some semblance of normalcy again. What will that look like for you? Will anything have changed?
Back to that centuries-old lesson, that we mentioned earlier Aurelius says that we just need to focus on doing the right thing, and everything else doesn't matter. These are lessons that we need to carry forward, long after this pandemic has gone.
Beginning today, resolve to do the right thing ALL THE TIME. No matter what, because it is the ONLY thing that matters.
By the way << Test First Name >>, I want to thank you for taking the time to read these emails. I can only assume that your inbox looks a lot like mine, so I am grateful that you would take the time out of your busy day to read my thoughts. I hope that they can provide some comfort and support during these crazy times. (If you have an email that you reach for first every morning, I would love to hear about it)
Movement is my medicine,
