Many of us are stressed with the current pandemic situation, and for valid reasons. However, we aren’t the only generation to be subjected to hardships. Perhaps the present moment isn’t so bad.

Imagine if YOU were born in 1900.

On your 14th birthday, World War I begins and ends on your 18th birthday. 22 million people perish in that war. Later in the year, a Spanish Flu epidemic hits the planet and runs until your 20th birthday. 50 million people die from it in those two years. Yes, 50 million.

On your 29th birthday, the Great Depression begins. Unemployment hits 25%, the World GDP drops 27%. That runs until you are 33. The country nearly collapses along with the world economy.

When you turn 39, World War II starts. On your 41st birthday, the United States is fully pulled into WWII. Between your 39th and 45th birthday, 75 million people perish in the war.

The smallpox epidemic lasted until you were in your 40’s, as it killed 300 million people during your lifetime.

At 50, the Korean War starts. 5 million perish. From your birth, until you are 55 you dealt with the fear of Polio epidemics each summer. You experience friends and family contracting polio and being paralyzed and many dying.

At 55 the Vietnam War begins and doesn’t end for 20 years. 4 million people perish in that conflict. During the Cold War, you lived each day with the fear of nuclear annihilation. On your 62nd birthday you have the Cuban Missile Crisis, a tipping point in the Cold War. Life on our planet, as we know it, almost ended. When you turn 75, the Vietnam War finally ends.

Think of everyone on the planet born in 1900. They endured all of that…and more.

Perspective is everything. Let’s try and keep things in perspective. We have a history of surviving and thriving.

The primary content in this blog was e-mailed to me by an unknown author- it arrived in my inbox multiple times. I did some fact checking and it’s accurate. I thought it might help put things into perspective as summer approaches and we’re still not out and about as much as we’d like. I’ve modified some of the content, and added the images, but left the facts.