One of the things I’ve been doing well sheltering in place is listening to author talks from Book Passages. Annie Lamont is a well-known author internationally but she’s also a darling of Marin County where I live. For a while we worked out in the same gym! Annie was the first guest in Book Passages author speaks series online. Questions came up for her opinion on COVID-19. She spoke about the rise of fear when we’re faced with a dreaded disease and sheltering in place. These are some of her fear fixes: Courage is fear that has said its prayers F*** Everything And Run Forgetting Everything’s Already Right Frantic Effort to Appear Recovered Change your definition to what’s OK Radical self-love Say the Serenity Prayer Sometimes I think heaven is just a new perspective (That’s my favorite)
And finally she recommended when confronted with fear to stop. Grab your wrist. And breeze. Have you ever heard of False Evidence Appearing Real? That’s been my go to definition of fear. Also recognizing that even with COVID-19 and all its associated problems, I’ve got it pretty good. Another way of saying it is - it could be worse… Did your mother ever say like mine did, “Finish your food, what about those starving children in China!” I don’t know why she didn’t talk about the starving children we have in our own country but… Maybe you get my meaning. And for a giggle here’s what a little girl has to say about the whole situation. We tried to send you the video but couldn't make it work. When asked by an adult how long since she's been sheltering in place she said, "too f**kin' long!"