Ruin is the kind of thing that happens to other people. They usually don’t look like you. They probably live half a world away, in a hand to mouth existence that barely permeates beyond their immediate circle.
What the Los Angeles fires have demonstrated is that even the most wealthy and powerful among us are not immune to ruin.
The death toll, sadly, has risen. Apart from that, most of what has been lost is just stuff, but that makes it only barely less tragic for the people impacted. Because so much of our life is wrapped up in our stuff. The things we lovingly build. The memories we surround ourself with. The small tokens that give us comfort.
I’m not sure what I would take with me if I had to leave my house and never return to it. The reality is that this has been something faced by many people all over the world this year, most with far less “stuff” than a Malibu millionaire. But their feeling of loss is no less significant.
Outside of the stuff that surrounds us, there’s the wealth you accumulate in the form of real estate, stocks, or just cash in the bank. Despite promises of “safety,” none of that is immune from ruin, either.
We know that the stock market can decline. But I’ve seen excessive leverage annihilate even the “safest” real estate portfolios.
You might think that your money in the bank is “safe,” thanks to government guarantees. But ask someone from 1920’s Germany or 2000’s Zimbabwe what happens when your banknotes are literally worth less than the paper they’re printed on.
I constantly write about the benefits of taking risk judiciously, because if the worst comes to pass, there’s not much you can do about it, anyway. Betting on the end of the world is a low probability bet with a pretty poor outcome, even if you’re right.
Best to be aware of the fragility of everything you think you possess. Be thankful, always, that you have the comforts that you have, in this particular moment. No matter how wealthy or successful you may be today, nothing outside of this very moment is guaranteed to any of us.
For no one is worthy of a god unless he has paid no heed to riches. I am not, mind you, against your possessing them, but I want to ensure that you possess them without tremors; and this you will only achieve in one way, by convincing yourself that you can live a happy life even without them, and by always regarding them as being on the point of vanishing.
Seneca
"I constantly write about the benefits of taking risk judiciously, because if the worst comes to pass, there’s not much you can do about it, anyway. Betting on the end of the world is a low probability bet with a pretty poor outcome, even if you’re right."
I really appreciate this, Geoff. I have talked to a few people about worst-case scenarios when the world falls apart. Generally, I realize there's not much we (they, me) can do in those cases -- though I'm hopeful that my gardening efforts will reap some benefits. But to your point, planning for end of the world probably won't work anyway, and it takes away from more prudent planning for situations that are more likely. Enjoy what we have now, always.