Living through crisis brings it’s own sense of survival instincts. Probably one of the most important is the grasp that optimism or a positive streak in the mind is helpful. While this is a struggle for myself (kind of a “glass half-empty” guy, or more realistically, my Gen-X cynicism leads me to simply trust few), evidence is clear that being positive, having a grateful spirit and generally thinking optimistically leads to more success.
Last year was a doozy, and while the country continued to reel through the economic crisis (can anyone explain to me how “experts” still think we aren’t in some sort of recession/depression?), my own life was hammered. Life at the College was more stressful than ever before in my 10 years at Valencia. Events at my church, Numinous, grew dark and difficult, though the loyalty of a few faithful to God and His calling did provide some solace. And I compounded my issues by agreeing to add on space to our home; they say renovation events are always hard—it is true.
Now, it’s 2013. Should I worry because of that 13? It’s the only year in the century to be burdened with the “unlucky” tag. Previous 13s have not been pretty. 100 years ago, the world was on pins and needles due to the two Balkan Wars, the increased tension between Germany and England, and closer to home, our involvement in yet another Mexican revolution would soon have the new PResident Wilson sending troops into our southern neighbor in early 1914. During 1813, the country was wracked in our second major war, an ill-advised conflict with England, meanwhile Europe was wracked in its second decade of conflict stemming from the French Revolution. 1713 was slightly better with the ending of war, the War of Spanish Succession while 1613 was a year when Galileo made new discoveries (still had wars). And closer to home, in 1513, Ponce de Leon declared the southern peninsula of the northern part of the New World to remind him of a feast of flowers, thus calling the land Florida, for the Pascua Florida celebrated in Spain.
So, perhaps our own “13” will turn out okay. But whether good or ill, you will still be living in this world (all things being equal—if it really does become a zombie apocalypse, then all bets are off). How you choose to proceed will still determine how your plans work out. Move forward with excellence, putting time and hard work into your dreams and things will generally work out well for you. Invest in the lives of others, building relationships that matter and, over time, those investments will always produce a solid ROI.
So, the Mayans were wrong, the plant Nibiru didn’t hit or attack us, and we are rolling forward as a people. While I still think crisis is ahead of us, even in that scenario, you must go on living your life in the “now.” The old values of hard work, sacrifice and community still work and matter, so let’s get busy.
Ready or not, New Year, here we come.