Untempered belief easily becomes brutish exploitation in the hands of those with power. Untempered belief may come from

• indoctrination,
• ego gratification,
• fear,
• groupthink,
• apathy,
• inattentiveness,

or a combination of these and perhaps other factors I have not realized.

So how does one temper belief?

• Education.
• Skepticism.
• Listening for understanding.
• Asking questions, then looking for the answers.
• Knowing that answers spawn more questions.
• Seeking consensus expert opinion.
• Maintaining high standards of who qualifies as an expert.
• Knowing I am not an expert in anything.
• Knowing no one is an expert in everything.

(To know is to act as if.)

These are not new thoughts, but perhaps a different way of coming at them. Is there a linchpin here? An area of focus to overcome? Or advance? Untempered belief? Fear? Skepticism? Uncertainty? I believe positive work toward any one of the points above and throughout this thought to be a worthwhile and potentially valuable pursuit.

If there is an overarching takeaway, perhaps it is the encouragement to live my life as if the only final answer is death; all other answers are temporary and merely a mode of conveyance to more questions. And though my death may provide me a final answer, in the context of Humanity, it also becomes only one short-lived answer amongst a multitude. But still, to examine an individual death remains far more valuable than to make up answers to made up questions and pretend to be done. So many of us live our lives as if we have all the answers. To do so is dangerous. To do so en masse, is to push us closer and closer to the precipice that will ultimately provide us, as a species, with a final answer.

If I recognize the value of my death, and incorporate that appreciation into my daily life, it is more likely that when my death comes, others will also recognize its value. Every death is an answer. Every death has value.

Death is not possible without life. Life is not valuable without death. Yet, (again), so many of us structure our lives within the confines of indoctrination, or ego gratification, or fear, or groupthink, or apathy, or inattentiveness, or a combination of these and other factors unrealized, and we ignore death. To expand my consideration by asking questions, then looking for the answers, knowing that any answers I find will forever lead to more questions, is to consider my death and add value to my life.

It is comforting to know that each day lived properly can add value to my life.

And with this in mind, still taking appropriate precautions and listening to expert consensus, it is time for me to move beyond the fear of this pandemic, (which is after all merely a consideration of my death, which I maintain adds value to my life)… with this in mind, it is time for me to return to my education; and my skepticism; and my questions; and my attentiveness; and my uncertainty, surrounding all things; not just COVID-19.