Fear causes us to perceive threat around every corner. It often masquerades as anger. makes us double down on our position, believing that digging in will make us safe. But it doesn’t. It just creates separation. We become rigid in our labels of “good” (safe) and “bad” (threat). We become righteous in our convictions. We unfriend each other. We stop listening.  Intellectual humility and curiosity disappear, the first casualties of fear.

Eight garbage bags. That’s how many bags were stuffed into the back of the car. Eight bags bound for the donation bin. Seems we are all doing whatever we can to stay occupied during this pandemic. These home improvement projects keep us busy and feeling productive. But do they make us feel better? Not really. At least not for long.

Walking through the park a few weeks back, I came across a painter who was hard at work on a landscape. I was fascinated.

I am acutely aware of the discomfort I feel in my body as I read nasty posts from friends and colleagues in my social media feeds. I want to turn it off.