A Pessimist's Guide To Overcoming Chicken Little Syndrome [Spoiler Alert: The World Is Not Coming To An End]

In the aftermath of my father's passing last month, following a short battle with pancreatic cancer, the many things I previously took for granted -- like those occasional just-reaching-out-to-schmooze phone calls -- are no longer available.

Frankly, I would give anything to pick up the phone right now and call my father to hear his insightful take on today's maddening-by-the-minute world.

The country is reeling. 

Deadly pandemics, election controversies, rioting sprees -- and that's just in the very first month of 2021 alone. 

An inauguration that appears to be the precursor of four more years of fighting and filibustering. A churning world stage featuring an appalling cast of puppet politicians and political pencil-pushers. An unprecedented global virus that's continually mutating and morphing. What should we make of all this chaos?

By the power vested in me and speed dial technology, I would relay the many queries on my mind, and my father would patiently opine and pontificate. 

He was a walking, talking, joking version of the Encyclopedia Britannica. Extremely knowledgeable. Full of insight. And always on standby to impart timely, sagacious, helpful life advice. 

One of his most oft-repeated, coping-inspired maxims came from a fictional childhood hero, the pointy-eared Mr. Spock, from the eponymous Star Trek fame.

Chock full of iconic catchphrases, from "Beam me up, Scotty" to "Live long, and prosper" to "Logic is the beginning of wisdom, not the end", the lesser-known -- yet equally impactful -- Star Trek gem shared below was uttered often by my late father. 

Uttered with a Vulcan dialect, I can practically hear him saying it now: "Humans are a highly adaptable species." 

Succinct. Powerful. And oh-so-relevant. 

Although Gene Roddenberry's brilliant screenwriters wrote this phrase in 1968 -- back when The Beatles were a small band from Liverpool, when Neil Armstrong was not yet a household name, when General Motors considered seat belts optional -- it remains just as true in 2021. 

Life throws us fastballs, curveballs, and the occasional glass of spoiled milk. 

Take a look at any recent headline. You've got plenty of fabulous fodder to feature. The world is seemingly coming to an end. 

Or is it? 

We adapt. We create solutions. We survive. And then the next crisis ushers itself into our already complicated lives. 

Rinse and repeat. 

Whether it's a pox, a pandemic, a politician -- or all three, rather redundantly, rolled into one -- we move on. 

Humans are a highly adaptable species.

We clawed our way through a Civil War, dual World Wars, and countless anesthetizing episodes of Snooki and Jersey Shore. So what's the big deal here? 

From the plain old petty peculiarities of everyday living, to the complexities of a modern world gone mad, there are so many things to worry about, and paradoxically, so many things for which to give thanks. 

Playing the role of a Prozac-popping, perpetually-pessimistic Chicken Little is so overrated. 

The average person today lives better than ancient royalty ever lived. We have access to all the creature comforts known to mankind -- think Tesla, Google, Nike, Pfizer, Nestlé, Microsoft, Rolex, Baby Yoda. Technology has progressed to a point where the average lifespan is unprecedented. Polio was officially eradicated, the Biafran Hunger Crisis is but a historical footnote, and Ben & Jerry’s finally released a new Chocolate Shake-It? Malt Milkshake Ice Cream flavor. 

Is life really all that bad? 

More than anything -- from Star Trek quotes to Talmudic teachings to Will Roger's witticisms - it is becoming apparent that my father left me with the greatest bequest of all: The precious gift of perspective.

True, I don't know what tomorrow will bring. But I do know there will be a tomorrow.

And that is something we can all be thankful and grateful for ... starting today.