A few weeks ago, my wife and I did a two-night trip away together to Porvoo, in southern Finland. We had made a dinner reservation for the last night at a steak restaurant at a place called The Meat District, right in the heart of the old, wooden village.
And last night, it burned down.
It is also not the first time there has been a fire in the area. In 1760, nearly the entire town burned down, but instead of starting from scratch, the rebuild was made on the existing medieval foundations, which is kind of cool. It has been less than 24 hours and there are already plans in place for the rebuilding, involving the city of Porvoo and the National Heritage Museum.
But, as I was reading the story it reminded me of how even things that have lasted a long time are fragile and, no matter how careful, mistakes are made. It also reminds me of the impermanence of power, where event he mightiest of a time, will eventually fade and crumble, through force or disuse, or in this case, accident - possibly negligence.
Nothing lasts forever.
And I think that this is something to remember when it comes to any kind of investment. Not only do the return rates change, every industry ebbs and flows, mistakes happen, hacks are made, keys are lost. There are so many things that can go wrong that even the "best laid plans" can go awry. It doesn't matter how prepared you think you are, it is impossible to prepare for every eventuality.
Resistance is futile.
And I think that while this might sound doom and gloomish, it is also a testament to the failure of the worst of us. Up until this point in human existence, evil has never prevailed.
Neither has good.
Because nothing last for ever, no dynasty, dictator, or ideal of any kind has survived. No attempt to take over the world has succeeded and, even in our darkest times in human existence, we have eventually come through the other side - not unscathed - but able to continue. But even with this track record, our luck will run out eventually. Something will wipe us out in the end. But it won't matter, because none will be here to experience the aftermath.
Life really is meaningless in the grand scheme of things.
So, I guess it is best to make some meaning out of the life we have, while we have it. What that means for you or for me, might be quite different to the meaning for someone else. For example, the owner of the restaurant above might have found meaning in building his restaurant, and he might find even more meaning in rebuilding it. Not only that, someone from the museum could look back on this project to rebuild as a shining light in their lives, something they look back upon with pride, saying,
"I helped restore history in it's rightful place."
Rarely do people find meaning in this life, devoid of the influence or inclusion of other people and I think that doing so is a "secret to a good life" for those who are able be part of a collective force for what they consider, valuable, worthwhile, useful to others. It is a social trade of activity and emotional return and being part of a team, matters to us.
Still to this day, I have never met a true "loner".
Those two ladies sitting casually talking in the image above will likely talk again together about this fire, because just a few short weeks ago, they were sitting in the café attached to the restaurant, eating homemade cakes and drinking tea or coffee together. They likely talked about how friendly the waitstaff were, as my wife did. They might have commented on the charm, not entertaining the thought that where they were sitting, would soon be the charred remains of a 200-year old building.
Impermanence.
No matter what we do. We are never secure. We hold onto the thought that we can keep things safe, protect ourselves. Yet, history tells us a different story.
And history repeats.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]