Diagnosis: grown but displaced. Cause: suspected. Cure: unknown.

A. Grown

Age, Experience, and Reflection are measures of human progression; simultaneously, humans form expectations of "what should be" for each stage of that progression. Today, unfortunately, age alone is the primary measure of growth in the vast majority of cultures and belief systems. It shouldn't be, but it is. Each pillar has its role: age measures time, experience measures evidence, and reflection turns both into growth.

B. Displaced

We are on a journey with no blueprint. We are measuring using the three pillars, but unfortunately, not relative to ourselves. We measure our progress relative to others’ journeys. Subconsciously, we’ve gotten exceptionally good at measuring our progress poorly. We then take the output of those broken measurements and use it as the baseline for our future. We forget that we cannot have an accurate reading of where we need to be with poor input. On top of that, we have never been on this journey before.

C. Cause

I have twoh hypotheses about the reason for this pandemic. The first is the illusion of close proximity to others' outcomes. For the first time in human history, every piece of information seems to be at our fingertips, leading to the self-dilution of our individual progress. The second is a lack of self-awareness. When you are overloaded with information at your fingertips, but you do not know who you are, what makes up your being, or your advantages and disadvantages, you are highly susceptible to contracting this new disease.

D. Cure

I do not know the cure. But I suspect it starts with returning measurement back to the self: What have I lived through? What have I learned? What have I reflected on? What am I becoming that is actually mine?