Book 202 - A Year of Magical Learning

Reflection Title: Chance Favors a Prepared Mind!

Book – The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story by Richard Preston

Book Description:

A highly infectious, deadly virus from the central African rain forest suddenly appears in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. There is no cure. In a few days 90 percent of its victims are dead. A secret military SWAT team of soldiers and scientists is mobilized to stop the outbreak of this exotic "hot" virus. The Hot Zone tells this dramatic story, giving a hair-raising account of the appearance of rare and lethal viruses and their "crashes" into the human race. Shocking, frightening, and impossible to ignore, The Hot Zone proves that truth really is scarier than fiction.

Reflection:

This really was a terrifying story…because it was true!

Learning about what Ebola can do to a human body in only 1 weeks’ time is truly humbling beyond belief. It is a startling reminder of the incredible power that mother nature wields over us at all times, and just how close we regularly flirt with our mortality and don’t even know it.

As I’m staring out the window from a skyscraper looking down over the City of Chicago below me, the world appears to be in order and it looks as if humans are winning the game. The streets are paved, people are freely moving, buildings are being constructed, there is food aplenty with all the restaurants and grocery stores, and everyone appears safe and secure…at least for the moment. It makes it tempting to think that we have this all figured out, that we are the dominant life form on the planet, and that we have the power to find a way to live forever. Then we hear stories like this and are reminded just how helpless, lucky, and delicate this whole balance of life really is.

This story can’t help but to make you stop and think, “Why didn’t Ebola Reston do the same thing to the human body as Ebola Sudan and Ebola Zaire? What changed? Why did we get so lucky? How often does this stuff happen?” So many questions that we’ll never know the answer to, but today wasn’t our day for whatever reason. We got lucky and dodged the proverbial bullet mother nature fired in our direction.

We may have gotten lucky this time, but I refuse to believe that we are walking through this world helpless and just waiting for mother nature to take us out. Humans are fighters! Our ability to face difficulties, bad luck, and changing circumstances but still endure is what separates us from the herd.

I don’t think this is by accident. For whatever reason, God gave us this unique superpower that we call consciousness to at least give us a fighting chance in this battle for existence. With this gift, we have the ability to learn, share, and collectively grow. Mother nature may try to knock us down, but that only makes us stronger.

I love the quote that one of the leaders of the containment of this outbreak stated a few times throughout the story of “Chance Favors a Prepared Mind”. Mother Nature is always going to have the upper hand in our fight for survival, but if there is any life form on this planet that can fight back and endure, my bet is on Humans and our ability collectively learn from our past to prepare for the future.

It may be a fool’s errand, but life is worth the fight if you ask me!

PS - after further consideration and discussion with Trieu, we have collectively agreed that none of this reflection makes sense! Oh well, we tried!

Question: How are you using your past to learn and grow to prepare for the future?

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Links:

What is The Year of Magical Learning? An Introduction

YOML Podcast Discussion - Coming Soon

YOML Bookstore - The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story by Richard Preston