Kay:
Hi there Questers and welcome back. It’s a terrific Tuesday. This is August 3rd, and we have episode 412 for you. Today we have a quote from Eliza Hamilton. Now, this isn’t the actual Elizabeth Eliza Hamilton, but this is a quote that she says from the movie where she says, “Look around, look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now.”
Shi:
In case this is your first episode with us or maybe you’re still just getting to know us. We are obsessed…
Kay:
Obsessed.
Shi:
Obsessed with Hamilton, the musical. In fact, for Kay’s birthday..
Kay:
Whee!
Shi:
I got to surprise her with a trip to New York this October to see Hamilton on Broadway and we are both so excited for that. So, needless to say, we love this movie, and we love this perspective that it brings forward.
Kay:
Well, please go to our Instagram, watch the reel of my reaction to Shila’s best gift ever. Please know that we will document our dream in New York trip for all of you on our Instagram page and hope that you join us over there. However, Shila, you have one of the most interesting takes on this quote and I cannot wait for you to put on your professor glasses and bring it to this group right here because you often talk Shi about how, even though it feels like we’re in the darkest of circumstances in our world, it’s actually never been a better time to be alive.
Shi:
Think about this, you guys. At any other point in history, you might think, or maybe you think to yourself right now at this point in history things are so bad. They’re worse than they’ve ever been. Tension is higher than it’s ever been. Things are getting out of control. The real epidemics are obesity and mental health and our diets and all of these things. It can certainly feel that way by what is reflected in the mainstream media because that is how the human psyche works. Capitalism combined with that psyche means that we profit off scaring people which is just the unfortunate truth. But the real underlying truth that Kay is driving at here is that the statistics show this is the best time in human history to be alive. In the Victorian ages, your kids had a 50% chance of dying before the age of five. 50, one in every two kids that you had was going to be dead before the age of five and now a child’s death is traumatic and horrible and something that all of us just grieve. It’s as traumatizing as I think it should be. But we think about what people were dealing with just 200 years ago. One out of every two kids was dying. So, truly: We’ve never lived longer. We’ve never been healthier. We’ve never been more innovative. It’s never been more peaceful. Violence is lower than it’s ever been. These are true statistics. You can absolutely Google it. Look it up. In fact, I challenge you to do so because it will help you learn some of these facts but truly in the scope of human history, we are lucky to be alive right now.
Kay:
I saw a very clear example of that on a social media post recently that was discussing how for the first time in history women don’t need a man. You actually don’t need a man. You can buy your own house. You can open your own bank account. You can go get credit. You can do all, all this stuff. So, think about the implications of that 200 years ago for a woman. You literally could not do anything without being married to a man. So, men didn’t have to work to get women to like them, because why would they. Women needed them in order to have access, in order to be able to live and to do things and have any kind of freedom. So, the post was making fun of how a lot of men seem to cry about having to work for a woman’s attention, but then bringing this sociological view on it saying that this is really the first time in history this has ever been an issue so no wonder some men are thrashing about it in a particular way.
Shi:
I totally saw that Twitter viral tweet exchange go and loved getting to read it. Just the perspective that the fellow actually was bringing forward was it that we got to step up our game guys. It’s the first time in history where ladies don’t need us and that means less looking for partners that are more than just financial stability and ability to get land or credit or money or inheritances or any of those things. Now it gets to be about connection and about building a life together and being a team together and being supportive of one another. That hasn’t always been the case. So, it’s brand new for our human species on the whole. Yes, you can say, hey, there’s that one tribe in that one remote area, that’s always been matriarchal. Not going to argue with you there. But if we’re talking about the majority of the world, it is brand new and it is just like Eliza Hamilton tells us, “Look around, look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now.”
Kay:
We are lucky to be alive indeed, which means today is a Lucky to be Alive Quest. Today we want you to do something simply because you just feel lucky to be alive. Hug a loved one, treat yourself to the scoop of ice cream, say no to a guy asking you on a date because you don’t need any man. Take a long shower, do something to soak up that jackpot, because guess what? You won the great lottery of life. You won a human experience. Congratulations! Today, get out there and feel lucky to be alive. Are you ready? You know the words.
Kay & Shi:
Let’s quest!
