Keeping perspective during the economic downturn

photo credit: notsogood

Investment losses never feel good. Perhaps the worst part is that the losses remind us we are not always in control. The stock market is impacted by unpredictable macro-economic events. We can’t control government bailouts, job layoffs, and irrational panic, but these are the things hurting all of us.

It’s natural to react with rage and despair. But a more worldly view may convince you things are not as bad as they seem.

When I face a hard problem, I look to philosophical advice. I recently came across an inspiring sermon from Reverend Forrest Church dealing with some of the grand questions about life.

It has nothing to do with investments, but I sure felt better when I got this perspective. Here is one part I liked where he talks about feelings of desperation and how to deal with them:

“What did I do to deserve this?” we ask when things turn against us, forgetting that we did nothing to deserve being placed in the way of trouble and joy in the first place. The odds against each one of us being here this morning are so mind-staggering that they cannot be computed.

…

Consider the odds more intimately. Your parents had to couple at precisely the right moment for the one possible sperm to fertilize the one possible egg that would result in your conception. Right then, the odds were still a million to 1 against your being the answer to the question your biological parents were consciously or unconsciously posing. And that’s just the beginning of the miracle. The same unlikely happenstance must repeat itself throughout the generations. Going back 10 generations, this miracle must repeat itself 1,000 times-1¼ million times going back only 20 generations. That’s right. From the turn of the 12th century until today, we each have, mathematically speaking, approximately 2½ million direct ancestors. This remarkable pyramid turns in upon itself, of course, with individual ancestors participating in multiple lines of generation, until we trace ourselves back to when our ur-ancestors, the founding couple, whom each one of us carries in our bones, began the inexorable process that finally gave birth to us all, kith and kin, blood brothers and sisters of the same mighty mystery.

I think Church makes a good point that we should be careful when doing the accounting about luck. We often compare the few good things that happen against the most recent bad things and conclude we have a right to complain. But if you consider all events, there is almost always a silver lining to the dark clouds that should keep you hopeful.

For more, check out the entire sermon, which is an excerpt from the book Love & Death: My Journey Through the Valley of the Shadow.

Do you have any tips for keeping perspective?