In a Time of Fear, Some Perspective

Turn on the television, pick up a newspaper, or stop by your local water cooler and it's all around you. There are a lot of Chicken Little's predicting financial doom and gloom--most mistakenly given a pulpit on television. If you are not worried about your financial future, you are a stronger person than I am. I train the financial institutions that are being shelled right now, and my business is right in the cross hairs of companies that will be seriously impacted by the economic crisis.

Yesterday I was getting ready for a different trip. Rather than a trip to the airport, it was a trip to Southern Maryland to a small piece of property that we own. It's a magical get-away on the water in a small town near Solomon's Island, Maryland.

My older daughter had surprised us and drove with a friend from Syracuse, New York, where she attends school to be home for a few days. Imagine that? She cared about us enough to not only take the six hour drive from Syracuse, but to surprise us in a well planned sceme worked out with my younger daughter. I needed a few items so I drove to our local mall, and moved through as quickly as I could.

While I was there in that mall, my mind was somewhere else. It was in a dark place. It was reminding me of the decades of travel to acquire enough wealth to put aside for my children's education and my retirement. This dark place seemed to delight in reminding me of the delays I had endured. It seemed to enjoy showing me the lonely nights I had spent in so many hotel rooms, and the disappointments I had experienced from time to time. This dark place was powerful, and because it rarely puts its hands on me, it made sure to whisper in my ear just how much harder my life would be, and how much harder I would now have to work.

I feel for anyone who walked by me during those few minutes because I'm quite sure the picture of the man they were looking at would not be a pleasant one. And then I saw her.

Almost on queue, out of nowhere, a little girl in a wheel chair was pushed directly in my path. She was about ten years old, and she was so beautiful I froze in my tracks. Her hair was combed with pretty little hair clips, just like the ones my girls wore when they were her age. She had some significant handicaps, but she wore none of this on her face. What she wore on her face was joy. She was going into the Disney store where the princesses and fairies were waiting to greet her. She wore her blessings on her sleeve.

As this wheel chair, and this darling little face, moved on I began to think. What was it I had been sulking about? In a blink of the eye I was no longer in a dark place at all. I was jolted back to reality, and a place that does not tolerate dark places. My daughter came home from school for four days to be with us. My younger daughter could not wait to be with us too. We are healthy. We are happy. We are heading to on oasis to be with each other.

Lesson: Do me a favor. Walk away from your computer, and take a true account of your life. My guess is, no matter what our economic crisis is, or will be, you will find it laughable to even care if you have your health and family.