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Black Swan Update II, or, That Damn Nietzsche!

 I’m pleased to report that I’ve found employment with a local healthcare facility. Coming from a printing background, healthcare may seem an unusual career trajectory, but I’d worked at this same facility some years ago, which perhaps helped to grease the rails to rehiring and foam the runway of the Black Swan event.

It’s good to be back. I left 9 years ago and am honestly surprised to be recognized in the hallways and lunch area after so many years away.

At first glance, the fact that a healthcare facility took in a manufacturing refugee for the second time seems an unlikely, eyebrow-raising occurrence. Looking a little deeper, it almost feels inevitable.

German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche proposed a thought experiment in which he stated “time is a flat circle.” In a nutshell, this statement addresses the cyclical, repetitive nature of life.

I seem to have been swept into the current of a particular circle and the event has been fascinating to observe (and quite maddening to experience).

To elaborate: in 2008 I was employed at Brown Industries, a respected printing firm in my hometown. Employed for one year, I left the company with no immediate prospects. The next position I held was in Chattanooga, Tennessee at a short term position off of Highway 153; the job only lasted a few weeks. Soon after I was hired on by the local healthcare facility, where I stayed for a number of years before rejoining the printing industry with a small shop.

Fast forward to December, 2020. Covid had hit hard. Concerned the small shop wouldn’t survive the pandemic, I took a position with Brown. Eight months later, the company collapsed suddenly, leaving the majority of employees, including myself, with no immediate prospects. Two weeks later I began working for a box company in Chattanooga, Tennessee, located just off Highway 153. Unhappy in the position, I only lasted a few weeks. Six weeks later I accepted my current position with the healthcare facility.

If that time circle isn’t round enough, consider this: I  2008, the world was reeling from the housing market financial crisis. In 2021, the world is reeling from the Covid financial crisis. I’m not saying my employment with the healthcare facility coincides with global economic collapse, but it has happened. Twice.

So what does one surmise from all this? Firstly, the last 12 months appear to have been chaotic and unpredictable from a personal point of view but reliably on track when considered from the flat circle view. Secondly, Black Swan events end, thankfully. However, I can’t help but wonder if the event set in motion the flat circle pattern that has been revealed. This is speculation, of course. Your mileage may vary.

It is my hope that there will be no more Black Swan posts, but that is exactly the point of view which allows a Black Swan event to unfold. May 2022 be a less eventful year for us all. (Don’t bet on it)

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