Can you bend ?
“The bamboo that bends is stronger than the oak that resists.” Japanese proverb.
My family lived through the Great Depression and remembers it well. They lived in a very small town in New Jersey. Often, they read about those who chose to die rather than face the economic chaos and unemployment. Some who saw investments fail, savings lost, their worlds changed, felt hopeless and gave up.
However, others of that same generation, the one Tom Brokaw celebrates in “The Greatest Generation”, grabbed at chances to survive and did so. What they had was hope and flexibility. They took advantage of whatever came their way.
Men, once hard workers, accepted government-offered cheeses, milk, and beans. Others who refused charity are said to have broken the law to feed their children. Some joined bootleggers and smuggled “bathtub gin” into the cities.
Many families throughout America – including mine — were saved by the creation of the Civilian Conservation Corps, the famed CCC camps. When President Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected by a landslide in 1932, it was a response to the people’s fears. He introduced his camps program in a March 9, 1933 emergency session of Congress. The camps’ Senate Bill was introduced on March 27 and through both houses of congress and on the President’s desk for signature on March 31 — THREE DAYS LATER. A pool of Republicans supported it by 67 percent. The CCC solved two national problems: unemployment of young men and America’s major land erosion and declining timber resources.
My father, then 19, worked in a CCC camp, helping plant millions of trees. He was paid $30.00 per month; his family received a $25.00 monthly allotment. Grandmother Mary told how this money helped the family survive. Near the camps, local purchases helped keep many small businesses afloat.
While some men floundered, others more flexible survived the Depression. They didn’t break; they bent.
Meditation for the Day
In everything you do, stay flexible in your approach and responses. Then when a detour suddenly confronts you, you’ll be ready to take it.
Action for the Day
Today, I’ll consider how I might react during a sudden change in fortune. I’ll do what police officers do during high speed chases. I’ll think “what if”.
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