As I began writing this post in March 2020, as entire nations were locking down in their fight against the COVID-19 – now simply known as COVID, or “What the [expletive deleted] happened to 2020?” – it was evident that we were living in historic times.
Having read reports describing how the pandemic was being fought in different parts of the globe, I also found time to read the fascinating history of the last major pandemic to which experts were comparing this one – the 1918 Influenza pandemic. There have been only a few lucky(?) centenarians to have experienced both colossal history-shaping events.
Amongst all of this, I found someone who believed we were living in historical times.
In his post, the author began with:
“We are living in historical times with the novel coronavirus pandemic.”
9 Ways a Functional Medicine Doctor Supports his Immune System
He then asserted that “the need to keep our immune systems strong to fight off infection and improve our resilience is critical now more than ever.”
This promising start was followed up by the obligatory and responsible – yet faintly dismissive – “[w]hile social distancing and hand hygiene are the best ways to protect yourself,” before crescendoing to “there are some things you can do to support your immune function as well.”
Number 1 on his list?
You guessed it: saunas!
Prescience
Moving from a person living in the past (and spending it in the sauna, apparently) to one who shouldn’t be (living in the past, or spending it in the sauna). I had to laugh at the irony – and marvel at my good fortune – when I found that Angela Greenig, one of the voices of Global Prophetic Voice, had shouted out in a 2018 post: “We are living in Historical Times!”
Now, that is an exciting new – albeit safe – angle: a prophet making proclamations about the past.
I don’t think anyone could have foreseen that one!
Granted, the statement “We live in historical times” may not appear to be particularly impactful – or even true – when first written. However, my research has shown Greenig to be just one of many writers over the years whose prescience has been proven by the passage of time.
Greenig wrote her post in 2018! Read it again, let it sink in, and realise this:
She. Wrote. Those. Words. Two. Years. Ago!
How could she have known?
It gets even more interesting.
Notwithstanding the reverse-prophecy angle that nobody but she could have predicted, Greenig’s statement is not unique. Other writers have made similar pronouncements over the years, and some of those have been far more prescient – prescient-er, if you will – than hers.
Here are some of the best:
“Simply put, we are living in historical times in the real estate sector.”
Michael Beckerman, 2016. https://www.cretech.com/michael-beckerman/we-are-living-in-historical-times/
“From the latest tremors rippling through the Middle East you get the sense that we are living in historical times, and we are in the midst of a tectonic global shift, that will only be appreciated and recognizable in time.”
Simon Jacobsen, 2001. A Bold New Peace Initiative
“We are living in historical times in the U.S.”
Speech by Deputy Attorney General Larry D. Thompson to the International Bar Association, 25 May 2002.
Finally, this one, written half a century ago, gives me chills:
“All this to suggest, as never before, we are living in historical times…”
From the Books section of “All Hands”, Journal of Naval Personnel Information Handbook, September 1961.
Those gifted seers were, indeed, living in historical times. It’s easy to see that now.
Those of us who are less gifted don’t realise that our own time is historical until it’s far too late.
Unintended stories
I am fascinated by typos or unfortunate word choices that change a writer’s intended meaning in subtle, or not so subtle, ways. Of particular interest are typos that tell unintended stories of their own making, and those are the ones I seek.
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