Post by Don Gieseke on Mar 23, 2020 14:59:07 GMT -6
From a Delta Chief Pilot:
Latest "Deep Thoughts" by JD...
Destroyed by FEAR 22 March 2020
Unrelenting bad news leads to an overabundance of “what-ifs” and worry. Throw in mistrust with fatigue and FEAR grows to critical mass. Critical mass explodes into panic and terrible decisions.
Right now, like COVID-19, FEAR is moving towards critical mass in the hearts of many. The isolation, shock, and the helpless feeling as you watch everything you planned swirl around the drain; that and more is weighing people down with a crushing weight.
I’ve felt that weight many times including Delta furloughs, displacements, in-flight emergencies, the DAL bankruptcy, and as I carried my wife to the car while more than half her blood volume left her body in the 31st week of pregnancy. I actually got hit by a dump truck in Lusaka, Zambia and fully expected to die. Living life well means you will confront fear's weight.
I am here with my beloved wife of 35 years. My brilliant daughter whom I watched being born gray and lifeless in an emergency C-section with an Apgar score of 1 & 1 is now a nurse in a hospital besieged by COVID-19. My perspective is an earned perspective.
Consider the story of Gideon’s victory over the Midianites as told in an ancient text of Israel. With only 300 men armed with trumpets, torches and clay jars, Gideon led a night attack on the Midianite camp which is estimated to have contained 15,000 soldiers.
The Midianite desert raiders woke up to noise and confusion. They panicked. They turned on each other in their panic to survive through escape. They were destroyed in their own stampede. Without the hysteria they should have easily overwhelmed Gideon’s small force of guerrillas.
Whether you or I believe every element of that story is immaterial. It is a spot on assessment of the human condition. Panic causes people to climb over the backs of each other to escape rather than work the problem together to survive. The story could be written today.
Fight the fear. Fight it with the greatest fear destroyer ever: thankfulness. Thankfulness will crush fear and panic every time. Try it, it works.
Take this slowdown in your world and re-cage your perspective. Reorder your priorities. Remember the people in your world that matter. Be thankful for the countless good things in your life. Make a list. Read it twice a day and cultivate an attitude of thankfulness to carry you through these days.
Choose to be strong for those you love. Choose to live well.
Latest "Deep Thoughts" by JD...
Destroyed by FEAR 22 March 2020
Unrelenting bad news leads to an overabundance of “what-ifs” and worry. Throw in mistrust with fatigue and FEAR grows to critical mass. Critical mass explodes into panic and terrible decisions.
Right now, like COVID-19, FEAR is moving towards critical mass in the hearts of many. The isolation, shock, and the helpless feeling as you watch everything you planned swirl around the drain; that and more is weighing people down with a crushing weight.
I’ve felt that weight many times including Delta furloughs, displacements, in-flight emergencies, the DAL bankruptcy, and as I carried my wife to the car while more than half her blood volume left her body in the 31st week of pregnancy. I actually got hit by a dump truck in Lusaka, Zambia and fully expected to die. Living life well means you will confront fear's weight.
I am here with my beloved wife of 35 years. My brilliant daughter whom I watched being born gray and lifeless in an emergency C-section with an Apgar score of 1 & 1 is now a nurse in a hospital besieged by COVID-19. My perspective is an earned perspective.
Consider the story of Gideon’s victory over the Midianites as told in an ancient text of Israel. With only 300 men armed with trumpets, torches and clay jars, Gideon led a night attack on the Midianite camp which is estimated to have contained 15,000 soldiers.
The Midianite desert raiders woke up to noise and confusion. They panicked. They turned on each other in their panic to survive through escape. They were destroyed in their own stampede. Without the hysteria they should have easily overwhelmed Gideon’s small force of guerrillas.
Whether you or I believe every element of that story is immaterial. It is a spot on assessment of the human condition. Panic causes people to climb over the backs of each other to escape rather than work the problem together to survive. The story could be written today.
Fight the fear. Fight it with the greatest fear destroyer ever: thankfulness. Thankfulness will crush fear and panic every time. Try it, it works.
Take this slowdown in your world and re-cage your perspective. Reorder your priorities. Remember the people in your world that matter. Be thankful for the countless good things in your life. Make a list. Read it twice a day and cultivate an attitude of thankfulness to carry you through these days.
Choose to be strong for those you love. Choose to live well.