Hopefully that’s not news to you. As the late, great metaphysician Jim Morrison reminds us: no one here gets out alive. In fact—and bear with me for a moment as I do some math–if you managed to wake up this morning, you are now one day closer to death.

Of course, there is the small matter of exactly when and precisely how that will occur. But here’s the thing: we all have a lot less control over those outcomes than we think. We can, in fact, do all the right things and encounter massively bad luck.

Today, as we encounter the harsh realities of an emergent pandemic, cratering financial markets and incompetent leadership, we can buy into the chaos, embrace the panic at the disco (and elsewhere) and do our best Chicken Little impression. We can add fuel to the little fires that are everywhere. We can spread ignorance, amplify fear, let our dis-ease rob us (and those around us) of our serenity.

Or not.

Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.