How Bad is This Crisis?

That depends on whether you believe the crisis is all negative — or could have positivity to it.

Photo by Paul Skorupskas on Unsplash

As I write this, more-or-less the whole of the United States is practicing social distancing. Non-essential businesses are shut down, sporting events and other public gatherings canceled or postponed, and people staying in and maintaining a general self-quarantine.

I don’t think anyone has seen such a thing in their lifetime. It’s like life is utterly on hold, and nobody can say for how long this will need to be the case.

Is this a bad crisis? Is this the end of the world as we know it? That depends on your perspective, frankly.

What IS a crisis?

At dictionary.com, crisis is defined as:

• a stage in a sequence of events at which the trend of all future events, especially for better or for worse, is determined; turning point.
• a condition of instability or danger, as in social, economic, political, or international affairs, leading to a decisive change.
• a dramatic emotional or circumstantial upheaval in a person’s life.

So, by the literal definition, we are facing a crisis. But also, by that same literal definition, a crisis is not necessarily positive nor negative. It just is.