Month: March 2020

Are You Afraid Of The Coronavirus?

Over the past few months, the world has gone from one extreme of reporting the Coronavirus as simply something to watch out for and remain cautious of, to the other extreme of something that should be totally feared.

While I do have some fears in my life that I currently am working on overcoming, getting sick from a virus and dying from it isn’t one of them, mostly because I’ve spent the better part of the past decade already feeling that way. I’ve carried so much physical pain for so long now, that the fear of getting sick doesn’t seem to consume me anymore, like it once did. As for the fear of dying, well when you live with great pain for as long as I have, you begin to long for what’s beyond this life in the hopes it’s far better than this one.

Nevertheless, what’s ironic about the Coronavirus is that not too long ago, it really would have been something that would have completely consumed me in fear. I probably would have washed my hands obsessively throughout the day and been concerned about every sneeze or cough that I, or anyone else around me, expelled. I would have also been one of those who would have allowed all the stuff being reported on this virus to drive me into the doctors or the emergency room to be looked at, especially if I suddenly came down with a fever.

Regardless, it’s been reported that at the most, 2 to 3 percent of those who contract this virus will die from it. In light of that statistic, that means that if somehow the entire world population was to contract the Coronavirus, that being around 8 billion individuals, the death toll would be somewhere between 180 million and 240 million. Ironically, at those odds, the chances of being someone that might contract this virus AND also die from it is about the same odds as winning the Powerball or the Mega Millions! And we all know how desperately some of us have attempted to win that and never have, even doing our best to win by purchasing countless entries.

What I find more interesting though with this statistic of 2 to 3 percent, is that one actually has a far greater chance of dying in a plane crash (about 1 in 5 million), a train crash (about 1 in 500,000), a car crash, (1 in 103), or from cancer (1 in 5) just to name a few. Yet, that hasn’t stopped the majority of us in life from flying, from riding on a train, from being in a car, or from simply going on with our lives without worrying obsessively about getting diseases like cancer.

Except that’s exactly what much of this world seems to be doing right now, obsessing in fear over a virus that doesn’t appear to be one that will ever take the majority of our lives. Close to a million people every year die from the flu, yet most of us don’t worry about that happening to us, nor does it stop us from living our lives knowing that potential is out there. Yet, with the Coronavirus, it is.

I get the fact that there is a greater chance of lives being lost from it, that 2 to 3 percent is a far larger chunk of lives than the .1 percent that die from the flu every year. And of course, I don’t want anyone to die from any virus or disease either. I’m just saying that I don’t think it’s healthy to let the fear of a virus or anything that hasn’t happened to me yet, to consume me. Unfortunately, it has for plenty of others though.

Many businesses have ceased production. Big events are being postponed. People are getting warned not to travel. Surgical masks are selling out. And financial markets are fluctuating wildly because of it all. Would all of those things still be happening if the news media wasn’t disseminating so much fear, causing so many in turn to live in fear about this virus? I don’t know, but maybe a big reason why I’m not afraid is that I accept my life expectancy is out of my control.

I’ve always believed that whatever is greater than me, God if you want to call It, or my Higher Power, or the Universe in general, is in control of when it’s my time to pass from this plane of existence. So, if it’s meant for me to get this Coronavirus and also die from it, then so be it. If it’s my time to go, it’s my time to go. It’s that simple for me. And for all I know, living in fear over it, may be the very thing that could cause me to get it.

That’s why I’m refusing to be afraid of the Coronavirus, because frankly, I have enough worries to work on in my life that are right here, right now, then to worry about something I may never get. And even if I do get it, I will trust my Guidance that it was meant to be and that it will do what it’s meant to do to me. Until then, I’m going to choose to keep going on with my life, doing my best to live it as best as I have been, because letting the fear of getting it and what it may do to me seems totally pointless…

Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson

Question For The Day

Today’s question is…

Have you ever owned a car you held onto for many years and truly appreciated all the things it helped you do? If so, what type of car was it? (Ex. 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid)

Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson

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Grateful Heart Monday

Hello and welcome to another chapter of Grateful Heart Monday, where gratitude is always the theme at the beginning of my week in writing, which for today is for “Best Hybrid Batteries”, a company who helped to extend the life of my 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid.

How “Best Hybrid Batteries” entered my life all began a few weeks ago as I was leaving an evening meeting when suddenly all the lights on my car’s dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree. A message immediately displayed itself in front of me indicating to “Check Hybrid System”. Ironically, I really didn’t have to, as I was pretty sure I knew what the problem was. You see, most cars who use hybrid batteries have a 10-year/100,000 miles guarantee on the battery itself, yet I’ve owned mine for over 13 years now and gone 258,000 miles! So, it was a pretty safe bet that all my car’s abrupt issues were related to that. Sure enough, my gut feeling was validated the next morning when my car received service at the local repair shop I’ve taken it to for a number of years now. The hybrid battery had indeed died.

I had always said that if and when my hybrid battery died it might be time to purchase a new vehicle, mostly because I was always told that a hybrid battery isn’t cheap. When I got the quotes from this repair shop, as well as from Toyota, that hunch got confirmed, as the estimates were between $3900 and $5800. I knew there was no way I could justify any of them, given the age and mileage of my car. It would be of much better interest to just trade it in and use any amount I’d spend on a repair as a down payment instead. But, before making that decision, I opted to do a quick google search, just to see if there might be any other options available to me and that’s when I discovered the company “Best Hybrid Batteries” who are located near Chicago, Illinois. They went into business back in 2010 for this very reason, to compete against the high cost repair shops and car dealers who tend to charge far higher than what’s needed for hybrid battery replacements. I spoke to the company owner who handles all the phone calls himself, and has been doing so since he began operations. He was quite friendly and spent a considerable amount of time on the phone with me, answering anything I asked him, reassuring me that this indeed would be a cost-effective option for me. He said the price to replace my hybrid battery, including sending one of his installers to my driveway where the work would be done, would only be $1948! That was a far cry from all the estimates I received everywhere else I called. Even better they were going to give me a 3-year warranty, which was two more than any of the local places were willing to give.

In light of that, I opted to have “Best Hybrid Batteries” do the install, and two days later, his employee arrived quite promptly from the Chicago area. It took the employee about 30 minutes to do the entire repair, which I found somewhat interesting given all the local repair shops had told me it would take between 2.5 and 3.6 hours to do and were going to charge me for all of those hours, even if it took much less time. Even better, the installer went out for a 20-minute drive with me, just to make sure everything was back to normal, which thankfully it appeared so. He then charged my credit card the $1948 and headed back onto the highway towards home, a mere one hour from the time he arrived.

Such a painless process, and one that I was made to believe by car dealers and repair shops alike that when a hybrid battery goes, so will the car or your wallet. I’m thankful that wasn’t the case and that the life of my car has been extended. While $1948 is still a considerable amount of money, I’m truly grateful that “Best Hybrid Batteries” gave me renewed life on my old vehicle and am praying now that this will extend the life of my car for a few more years!

Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson