This pandemic has turned everyone into an armchair epidemiologist, and an armchair philosopher as well. In fact, a friend recently mentioned a quote to me from an ancient Stoic philosopher: “Every olpe has two handles – one by which it can be carried, and one by which it can’t.” An “olpe” was an ancient Greek wine pourer with a *single* handle, like in the image.

At first this was confusing, to say the least, but I understand the point now. Every event, like this pandemic, can be treated in two ways, one that is realistic and that serves you, and one that is imaginary and gets nothing done.

Productive Action versus Wishful Thinking.

At some point, I am sure you have heard about the person bragging on social media who was “stuck at home” so he wrote that Great American Novel that he had always been meaning to write, or finally got the chance to start to learn Swahili and is now completely fluent, and also trained for and completed a marathon or two. Are these amazing acts of super productivity? Or more likely, imaginary handles…

Sure, Shakespeare wrote King Lear during a plague pandemic, and I just found out that Ian Fleming, who wrote the James Bond novels, was hospitalized while recovering from a heart attack and forbidden from using a typewriter, so instead, he wrote a short story by hand with pencil and paper for his son.

That little story was the classic children’s book, which then became an international hit movie, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

But these stories are interesting because they are so exceptional.

If you are stuck at home because your international vacation plans for London, Jamaica, and the Monte Carlo Casino have turned into a stay-cation, I suggest you consider grabbing the correct olpe handle, because this is the perfect time and situation to take care of that estate planning you have been putting off.

Whether it is updating your plan because of changes in your life and family, or finally getting your planning actually checked off, now is a perfect time to take care of it. You are at home, and we can do everything virtually over Zoom. Just email or call our office to set up an appointment. This could be your masterpiece move of the pandemic.

Trust me, you can handle it.

Best,

Anna