Out & About With #RandomThoughts

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 It has been a very challenging Month in many ways. Although it was a month of reflection and engagement, it was also a month that saw how our World as we knew it ended thanks to a Virus. I also joined the Virtual Earth Day Celebrations as Ed Begley Jr. and His Daughter hosted a Virtual Worldwide event - and also caught comments by World War Zero hosted by John Kerry. I look forward to continued engagements with them as I have already been contributing to the Earth Day App.

I had the pleasure to be supportive of the initiatives at the Daily Outsider as our team pulled together guidance from WHO, the CDC, The State of California and the Orange County Department of Health. It will be a long road back to recovery - I am hopeful that the Daily Outsider will play its' part as we emerge from the Shutdown and start thinking about #LifeAfterCorona. It has been quite busy as we have been busy with on-going editorial work throughout the Daily Outsider platforms as we have tried to be uplifting in spite of the profound challenging times we live in. I had the chance earlier in the Month to join a Zoom Meeting sponsored by Coro. The head of the LA Economic Development Corporation gave a devastating picture of the shutdown - 90% of Los Angeles International Airport being shut down. This devastation has continued with massive unemployment numbers - but the most tragic story has been the number of infected with COVID-19 and the number of our fellow Americans who have died - so far over 60,000. Unfortunately, the clamor in the conservative media to open up has been challenging to be witness to

Iran was a focus of mine and our work at the Daily Outsider this month. It was disheartening to see how the regime showed how it had no regard for for the ordinary faces in Iran-as it clamored to open the economy as COVID-19 continue to ravage the Country. The head of Tehran's City Council, blasted official figures of the dead in Iran - 13,000 people were buried as the regime continued to lie and mislead trying to portray an image of normalcy. The plight of the people continued to be heartbreaking - and yet the regime clamored for the opening of religious sites and celebrated the launch of what they deemed to be a satellite-which turned out was a reverse Webcam as noted by the Commanding General for the US Space Command. What was even more agitating was that the Supreme Leader (Supreme Guide) Of the Country opened up a page on his site for people to contribute even though he controls billions in assets. Furthermore, he gave his "assent" for some funds to be released to the Government and also gave his "assent" for privatization - which is another scheme for the Government to fleece the people. Tehran's Stock Exchange is continuing to increase even though there is no fundamentals to support such an increase. As I was assessing the daily analysis, I saw a report that the average age of addicts in Iran had fallen to 8 years - this shows that another generation is being lost to the Revolution as the previous four generations. One of the most disheartening of messages I caught this on Iran International as the Wife of Reza Pahlavi, the eldest Son of the late Shah of Iran, went to Greece to see first hand the plight of Iranian Refugees which was produced by Iran International which is headlined in this Column.

 By lending her support, Yasmine Pahlavi highlighted the plight of these Iranian Refugees who were living in horrible conditions In Greece. This is not about when anyone is a Royalist or not - as I noted in a note when I released this to my Facebook Story-line - but it is about treating humans in a righteous and fair way. Right after this premiered on Iran International, I saw reports of a She was joined by one of the leading Iranian Entertainers, Arash - Although the narration is in Farsi, the scenes are just horrific to see. I also saw rays of hope as I saw a new Cafe opened up by a refugee. As I saw this hope, I also saw a statement from the head of the local labor federation in Northern Iran as he noted how his members could not even afford to pay for bread - in a country that is one of the richest in the World in terms of resources.

 As I was working to wind down the month, I released this to my Instagram Page in support of Donate A Photo to reflect upon #LifeInTheTimeofCorona , celebrate the history of Iran and to honor the victims of Ukraine Flight 572 which I also released to my Facebook Wall below:

The families of the victims of flight PS752 have launched PS752Justice. I had the pleasure to be supportive and look forward to being supportive in whatever way I can. 

Here in my hometown, Laguna Niguel, It was also great to see the City working on and creating the Economic Development Tool Kit - as the Chamber also spearheaded a #LagunaNiguelStrong Campaign which I had the pleasure to join by ordering a shirt which I showcased earlier this week:

It has been gratifying to make the rounds to visit local businesses to do my small part to be supportive and to uplift them fully embracing all they asked to do to practice social distancing - It is also good to have seen a uptick exemplified by a bit more cars in the streets. 

I could not help but take comfort in this courtesy the team at the Daily Stoic that provides an absolute admonition to us all:

As we've discussed, one could look out at the world right now and see a lot of negative. Or you could grab the other handle, as Epictetus says, and see the positive. It's an open question: Is this a great time to be alive or a terrible one? Are we blessed to have spent twenty years without any major wars, without any truly global crises, with sustained periods of economic prosperity and incredible technological advances? Or has it been twenty years with three major recessions, with the terror of terrorism, disruptive or disappointing tech, and now with a global pandemic?

Here's the Stoic's answer: It doesn't matter. Because you don't control when you live. What history will think of this period compared to other periods is meaningless. The only thing that counts is that you're alive right now.

We don't choose when we live, we choose how we live. That's it. You didn't ask for this moment. Maybe you'd prefer things to be different. Well…they aren't. And you're going to have to make do. Understand this and you will be wise. Adhere to it and you will be successful.

How can we make the most of right now? That's the question. How can we live well within-or in spite-of what's happening? That's our job. You think Marcus wanted to live through the plague or Epictetus in a time where slavery existed or Seneca during Nero's rule? Nope. But they figured it out. They made it work. 

There are also two key dates to note-first the advent of the Web that allows us all to be on and to the voice as we have been thanks to some great visionaries:

The World Wide Web was born 27 years ago today (April 30, 1993).

It begin as a @CERN project called ENQUIRE, initiated by British scientist Tim Berners-Lee.

When @timberners_lee first proposed the World Wide Web in 1989, his boss responded: "vague but exciting" pic.twitter.com/fSlPuOS0Us

- Vala Afshar (@ValaAfshar) May 1, 2020

This is also a month where we all celebrate Mothers' Day as I wanted to share this tribute to Mothers :

As I conclude I wanted to remember all the fallen of COVID-19 and ask that the almighty grant solace to their loved ones. I also salute all the Doctors, Nurses, Hospital Workers , the Grocery Clerks, the UPS & Fed-Ex Drivers, the Uber Drivers, the Lyft Drivers, The Public Transport Workers, Law Enforcement Officers, Fire Fighters, Soldiers and all others workers who have been at the forefront of keeping us alive, fed and protected during this Pandemic. I know #WeWillGetThroughThis and emerge stronger. I close out my #RandomThoughts with the following Visual #RandomThought From my archive I released on my Twitter Feed throughout the Month as I say loudly - Onward:

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Excerpts of a column originally published at http://thefounder.thedailyoutsider.com April 30, 2020