Now that the dust has settled on the federal election and hurricane season is almost over down south and the carnage on the financial markets has subsided to a “Ho, hum – so what did the TSX drop down by today – another 600 points? Ho, hum,” • welcome to the morning after. We are sinking into a new reality: a possible recession, yo•yoing stock markets that cannot make up their mind, another ineffectual minority government, gas below $1.00 per litre, governments owning financial institutions, regulated open markets, bailouts as the new form of subsidy, greed being exposed and rooted out, a new economic hierarchy with the deck chairs being shuffled at the G8 and other Titanic looking “old world order” institutions. Hmm, civilization has been busy in the last little while!
Is this any different from the morning after the diagnosis of a fatal illness, the departure of a lover, the death of a family member, the loss of a job, the departure of one’s first born to college at the other end of the country? Is it any different when you first found out you had to wear reading glasses, or get annual prostate checks now that you were over 40, or colon checks because you were over 50, or take cholesterol medication for the rest of your life because • no matter how much you exercised and dieted• you just could not avoid piling on those damn fatty deposits in your arteries anymore?
The morning after is an altered reality from what was yesterday and what we had willingly or grudgingly gotten used to. It’s change. It’s a milestone on the path we call life. The morning after signals the passage of time, like the seasons, and ushers in growth. And growth hurts because it stretches and breaks what was. However, mornings after also usher in a brand new day to play in once again. And even though you may stumble and fall as you play, you still get to play nevertheless. It is not the morning after that needs to be feared as much as the permanent sundown, when the next day is no longer yours.
So I’ve put the morning after syndrome behind me for now, grateful that dawn actually broke after all these events. And even though we aren’t out of the woods yet, I’m hoping there will be more mornings after to come. Yes, so my stock portfolio is a bit smaller now, and I can’t replace my fancy car, and the home renovation will have to wait for a bit, and my mortgage is not a slam dunk anymore, and the prospect of work is a bit weaker, and less people will buy books this year (mine included) as they count and conserve their pennies • but I have a day to explore and continue my life journey and purpose. Thank God for mornings after, otherwise life would flat•line.
