Lessons from Tragedy: Observations from the Pandemic
The headlines are all too familiar. Countless lost lives globally, especially here in the US, a confusing obstinance at one level to deny it, and a militaristic adherence on the other. Work life is anything but what we might refer to as normal and, sadly, relationships, both personal and in business, have suffered. So in the midst of despair, how do we find gratitude? How do we cultivate hope?
It struck me as I was considering the events of the last 11 months or so how little of it had to do with the theme that for the past 30 years has been the most dominant in American life: celebrity. If you consider what the months and years prior to March '20 were all too often filled with, it was the never ending onslaught of celebrity obsession...award shows, talk shows, concerts, movies, magazines, red carpets and white-washed interviews convincing us all how important certain lives were and the significance we should attach to their opinion.
Glamourous photos and video content on television and social media and at the grocery checkout lane driving this idea that we are somehow missing out while a select few had it all. Then suddenly, something bigger than celebrity hit us all - the pandemic. The frailty of life. The vulnerability of the masses and the awareness of time. A return to the core of humanity. If it wasn't for the college entrance scandal we may not have had any such programming at all.
Entertainment all but came to a halt. Sports, while still viewed, was far from a common discussion point and anything but obsessive. Award shows came and went without fanfare and the paparazzi got more acclaim for photos of true suffering than for the fenced in fame of wealthy celebrities. Tom Hanks getting Covid-19 with his wife was possibly the top celebrity story, aside from fighting investors and beyond wealthy business owners. So then, what is the take away?
Perhaps the very value we all bring to what we do. We can have grand moments in the simplistic events of everyday life. We can drive to meaningful, purpose-filled heights in our career that never win an Oscar. We can love our families in ways that never cross the pages of People Magazine. We can build and drive companies that will never be a cover story in Inc. magazine or Fast Company. We can see life as it actually is and nurture the connection so many of us have lost to what is real, honest, authentic, and fulfilling. Romanticism is not for the dreamer but for the realist who chooses to see life through a hope-filled lens.
I hold no angst for the celebrity elite and certainly empathize with the trials of the independent artists, musicians, actors, and performers who have struggled in poignant ways during this global hell. That said, what a gracious reset of values we may have just been granted by seeing a world with virtually no unnecessary celebrity influence. To simply see a neighbor in need, a spouse in heartache, a coworker trying to drive their career, a loved one impacted by the pandemic long before we notice who is wearing what to which party could be one of the unforeseen gifts from a year of tragedy that seems to be never ending.
The application for how this impacts your career is evident. You may never be in the C-Suite. You never be the biggest investor in the room. You may, however, fill your life's work with the value delivered in the gratitude of every day simplicity. You also might get as far as you wish to go, but for the best reasons...one void of comparison and envy.
Tragedy is a place that deserves reverence, despair, respect...and hope. The very concept that despite being thrown hard, we climb back on the horse and direct it to our original destination or maybe the one diverting us to a new truth, a fresh understanding, or a clearer vision. We learn. We grow. We simply do not give up. The lack of celebrity in 2020 may just be the new truth we need in order to find paths that have more meaning than we ever thought we could attain. Hope has its reasons, and so should we.