Here's the thing: What scares us about the Corona Virus is that we might be dead sooner, in some arbitrary way that wasn't already figured into our calculations.

A Stupid Fear

If you think about it, this is downright stupid. There is no limit on ways to die that we don't pay any mind to that could hit us any moment. Do a quick search on “unexpected things that can kill you,” and you'll find poison plants, and chimneys not properly taken care of, and televisions and dressers tipping over, and increasing risks of infection because we try to be too clean.

And then research the risks you either aren't aware of or blithely underestimate, like falling from ladders, electrocution, trampoline and pool accidents, too-hot tap water, ants, dogs, falling ice, falling out of bed, autoerotic asphyxiation, farm animals, too much exercise, too much water/salt/caffeine, left-handedness, lightning, crossing the street, and even vending machines.

And sometimes we're just delusional: at least 70 percent of us think we're better than average drivers, but most accidents occur due to human error.

The truth is that your next cigarette or can of coke is more likely to cut years off your life than the next pandemic will. And texting while driving, or drinking and driving, you're raising a wholly avoidable risk of death to yourself and others. I'd guess even driving late on a Friday night, or after a New Year's party, or the Superbowl, or living in the wrong part of Chicago in August, would raise your risk of death at the hands of some other idiot greater than all the world travel you could do would raise your risk of being killed by the Corona virus.

The problem is, for some silly reason, we think some of those things are in some way under our control. They're not.

You Will Die

You will die. You could die suddenly. It happens every day. It could be from a freak accident. It could be from the Corona Virus, but it's unlikely to be.

So Why Freak Out

Yes, our lives may be suddenly cut short, but so what? What bothers us is that most of us are putting off living. We think there will be a tomorrow that we can look to. We're waiting for a bonus, or a break, or that big trip, or a bride that will make our lives complete. We think about the big plan.

But the thing is for most of us tomorrow will be a lot like today. That big trip may never come. When we get the big raise, it'll only pay for the bigger expenses. And before you know it, we'll have spent 75 years of todays that look a lot like today, and pretend that that's a life.

There's always an Existential Threat

So what I suggest is that you live this day as if it were your last, and every day, but don't be an idiot. You can also plan for a better richer tomorrow, but don't forget sometimes all we get is the way, and if we expect something will come along, or come together, tomorrow, or next year, or whenever, and that will make us fulfilled, and it would be a pity if we didn't live long enough to see that, we're doing it wrong.

The way to beat the Corona virus, and every existential threat is to know you've done all you could up until today to have a great life, that you've made people smile when you could, that you've taken care of your people, and that they know that they are loved and perfect the way they are.

Get that down, and your living an hour or another fifty years won't matter, because you will be here now, and that's what counts.