Written by Colleen Duggan

Sometimes we all need a little perspective change…

Imagine you were born in 1900.

“When you’re 14, World War I begins and ends when you’re 18 with 22 million dead.
Soon after a global pandemic, the Spanish Flu, appears, killing 50 million people. And you’re alive and 20 years old.
When you’re 29 you survive the global economic crisis that started with the collapse of the New York Stock Exchange, causing inflation, 25%+ unemployment, and famine.
When you’re 33 years old the Nazis come to power. When you’re 39, World War II begins and ends when you’re 45 years old with 60 million dead. In the Holocaust, 6 million Jews die.
When you’re 52, the Korean War begins. When you’re 64, the Vietnam War begins and ends when you’re 75.
A child born in 1985 thinks his grandparents have no idea how difficult life is, but they have survived several wars and catastrophes.
Today we have all the comforts in a different world, amid a new pandemic. But we complain because we need to wear masks. We complain because we must stay confined to our homes where we have food, electricity, running water, Wi-Fi, even Netflix! None of that existed back in those days. But humanity survived those circumstances and never lost their joy of living.
A small change in our perspective can generate miracles. We should be thankful that we are alive. We should do everything we need to do to protect and help each other.”

Colleen Duggan is a popular writer for Catholic media. Her work has appeared in both Catholic Digest and RTJ’s Creative Catechist magazine. For two years she blogged bi-monthly for CatholicDigest.com, and her articles have also appeared online at notable sites such as Catholic Exchange, CatholicMom.com, Faith and Family Live, and RTJ’s Creative Catechist. Currently she is a monthly columnist for Integrated Catholic Life, a website which garners four million visitors a year and has over 500,000 Facebook fans. She also is a regular contributor to Aleteia.