Perspective

This is a graph of the Dow Jones Industrial Average from 1929 through today.

That big dip right at the beginning is the 1929 crash.

I was thinking about how thinking in terms of shorter and longer terms changes my attitude about things.

And I don't mean just the stock market either. Because when you view the DOW over 80 years it is pretty apparent that even the rather drastic losses of the last few weeks is not such a big thing in terms of overall market performance.

But I was thinking, too, about my first ancestor to come to the shores of the United States. He did not come as a tourist for fun and sun. Rather he felt he had to leave his home to find a better life for himself and his family. Did he think about me and other future generations? Probably very unlikely. But his decision did not affect just him but also me and my children and my grandchildren and others I cannot even imagine.

Likewise things I do today, or don't do as the case may be, also will have far reaching implications I cannot guess.