Times of Crisis

I could easily
Get overwhelmed
By all the negative
Things happening
In the world.
Every newspaper
Seems to be full of
Doom and gloom,
The economy is
In a shambles
And people are scared.
I could become
A raving pessimist
If I let myself,
But what good
Would that do me?
I have learned
Not to give up
Without a fight.
A couple of my friends,
Who are normally
Upbeat and positive,
Have let their minds
Go South for the Winter,
And all they do
When they get together
Is commiserate about
Their respective misfortunes
And compound their fears.
Very little, if any, good
Ever comes out of
Such conversations.
My role is to infect them
With my positive attitude,
To get them to start
Noticing what they can do now
In spite of circumstances.
I can’t let their attitude
Affect my own.
Sure, they each have
Serious financial concerns,
But their money fears
Almost paralyze them.
Their respective businesses
Are in a tailspin,
And virtually the whole country
Is in a state of crisis.
The natural tendency for people
Caught in this situation
Is to hunker down
And try to wait
Until the conditions change.
The central theme
Is to spend nothing
And do nothing,
Hoping that they will survive
Until better times come.
The problem with that approach
Is that it leaves everyone
Worried about losing
What they have,
And powerless to recognize
And act on opportunities
Which may lie
Right under their noses.
Fortunately for them,
A new business
Was initiated back
When they still
Had faith in tomorrow.
The business is in
It’s infancy,
Just getting started,
But has remarkable possibilities
If we can act now.
For every reason
They come up with
Why they can’t build
The new business
Right now,
I must come up with
Two ways they can.
I must ensure
That we start off with
Incremental successes,
Small achievements
That can serve
As the foundation
For enthusiasm.
Fear of not having money
Is a whole lot more
Incapacitating then simply
Not having money.
Once the fear is mitigated,
It is amazing
How much can be accomplished
Without money.
It is almost miraculous
What happens
When a group of people
Use their heads
For something other than
Harboring fears.