Post by Don Gieseke on Apr 5, 2020 8:17:05 GMT -6
Latest "Deep Thoughts"...replace "Delta" with your situation...
Rome Burned 04 April 2020
Rome burned. The big one under Nero’s rule was in 64AD, but Rome has been burned and rebuilt at least seven times. The Gauls, Visigoths, Normans, and others sacked Rome. Every time Rome was rebuilt on the ruins of what was before.
Tokyo burned. U.S. Army Air Corp Operation Meeting House conducted over 9-10 March 1945 destroyed 16 square miles of Tokyo by fire bombing. One million Japanese civilians were left homeless and one hundred thousand died. It was the most devastating air raid ever conducted. Yet, Tokyo rebuilt into a world class city.
14 million people live within Tokyo’s city borders and the metro area claims a population of 38 million – the largest metro area in the world. Fifty-one of Fortune’s Global 500 companies are headquartered in Tokyo. A world cultural center, trends are started and stopped in a place that was a smoking ghost town in 1945.
Chicago burned. Right to the ground. Dresden, Germany completely burned. San Francisco burned. Boston too. New Orleans burned twice. London had great fires twice as well. All these rebuilt smarter, grander, stronger. All came back better.
A few days ago, a friend alluded to Delta’s current state and lamented how serious it has become. He said, “Rome is burning.” It hurts him to watch it. He worried that some are not appreciating the gravity of this situation.
That statement stuck with me. I considered the shock Romans felt as their great city burned around them. Shock, fear, hopelessness - how many times have those emotions assaulted the souls of man? In so many ways it is the same panic that we are dealing with today as COVID 19 spreads like an unstoppable fire.
I see my great company parking assets and burning through the cash. I see new fire breaks being cut and understand that we must sacrifice good timber to keep from losing the whole forest. Every corner of the world points at the spreading blaze. Hope melts and pools on the ground as one stares at the advancing flames.
But here is what I know. The winds will die down, rain will come, firefighting will douse the fires. COVID 19 will burn out. This story is the story of life. We, you and I, will rebuild. We will overcome this. Like the devastating, life-altering events people have faced throughout history, We will overcome to thrive again.
Also, I know: Hopelessness kills faster than flames. Choose to forgo hopelessness and take the long view. This has been done many times before. We will do it again. We will rebuild on the great foundation of what was, but we will come back smarter, grander and stronger than we were. We will come back better together.
44
Rome Burned 04 April 2020
Rome burned. The big one under Nero’s rule was in 64AD, but Rome has been burned and rebuilt at least seven times. The Gauls, Visigoths, Normans, and others sacked Rome. Every time Rome was rebuilt on the ruins of what was before.
Tokyo burned. U.S. Army Air Corp Operation Meeting House conducted over 9-10 March 1945 destroyed 16 square miles of Tokyo by fire bombing. One million Japanese civilians were left homeless and one hundred thousand died. It was the most devastating air raid ever conducted. Yet, Tokyo rebuilt into a world class city.
14 million people live within Tokyo’s city borders and the metro area claims a population of 38 million – the largest metro area in the world. Fifty-one of Fortune’s Global 500 companies are headquartered in Tokyo. A world cultural center, trends are started and stopped in a place that was a smoking ghost town in 1945.
Chicago burned. Right to the ground. Dresden, Germany completely burned. San Francisco burned. Boston too. New Orleans burned twice. London had great fires twice as well. All these rebuilt smarter, grander, stronger. All came back better.
A few days ago, a friend alluded to Delta’s current state and lamented how serious it has become. He said, “Rome is burning.” It hurts him to watch it. He worried that some are not appreciating the gravity of this situation.
That statement stuck with me. I considered the shock Romans felt as their great city burned around them. Shock, fear, hopelessness - how many times have those emotions assaulted the souls of man? In so many ways it is the same panic that we are dealing with today as COVID 19 spreads like an unstoppable fire.
I see my great company parking assets and burning through the cash. I see new fire breaks being cut and understand that we must sacrifice good timber to keep from losing the whole forest. Every corner of the world points at the spreading blaze. Hope melts and pools on the ground as one stares at the advancing flames.
But here is what I know. The winds will die down, rain will come, firefighting will douse the fires. COVID 19 will burn out. This story is the story of life. We, you and I, will rebuild. We will overcome this. Like the devastating, life-altering events people have faced throughout history, We will overcome to thrive again.
Also, I know: Hopelessness kills faster than flames. Choose to forgo hopelessness and take the long view. This has been done many times before. We will do it again. We will rebuild on the great foundation of what was, but we will come back smarter, grander and stronger than we were. We will come back better together.
44