Coronavirus & the Pandemic Response How Do They Do It? An interview with five top health specialists about how they navigate daily Covid-19 risks in their own lives. I found this article from the Washington Post really helpful: Click here to access this resource. How to safely wear your mask. Even though I’ve been wearing a mask for months, I found this refresher on how to do it safely useful. It’s easy to get sloppy or careless. [Continue Reading]

Coronavirus & the Pandemic Response Referrals to Online Services for Addiction and Mental Health For many people, the stresses of the coronavirus has exacerbated existing problems with anxiety, stress, depression, addiction, and other mental health challenges. Here’s an online portal where people needing help can get hooked up with teletherapy. This resource was sent to me by someone from The Recovery Village. I don’t know the people running it or much of anything about their services, so do your own due diligence, but it seems like a good idea for this moment when a lot is coming up for people and folks don’t know where to turn for help: [Continue Reading]

Coronavirus & the Pandemic Response Fascinating infographic based on interviews with epidemiologists on when life will “get back to normal.” Thanks to Jen Astone for passing this along. Click here to access this resource. CORONAVIRUS: WHEN YOU CAN NO LONGER JUST TELL PEOPLE TO STAY HOME In this podcast by the On The Media team, Marcus and Brooke consider the shortcomings of an abstinence-only response to the pandemic, and how harm-reduction approaches could better serve the public. Here's what it's about: When the US entered the early stages of the pandemic, federal and municipal leaders maintained that the best way to prevent the spread of the ... [Continue Reading]

Coronavirus & the Pandemic Response Buddhist teacher Tara Brach describes how building and sustaining our compassion—and not going back to our “dissociated normal” is essential to social change work: Sustaining Our Caring (2020-06-17) Here's what it's about: Sustaining Our Caring (2020-06-17) - All transformation arises out of love; it is the energy of caring about life that moves us toward inner, relational and societal healing. With a primary focus on our radically re-enlivened movement for racial justice and equity, this talk looks at ways of remembering what matters and consciously nourishing our care. Click here to access this ... [Continue Reading]

Coronavirus & the Pandemic Response An interesting snapshot of the pandemic from the journals several different authors: When we were quarantined - Los Angeles Times Click here to access this resource. Racial Justice & Educational Resources for White People Anger and Transformation A great dharma talk with Tara Brach about the power of anger and its wise and effective uses, framed around the current uprising, and beyond. This reminds me of so much of what Ellen Bass and I wrote and the courage to heal more than 30 years ago about the power and effectiveness of anger as a tool for ... [Continue Reading]

Coronavirus & the Pandemic Response I have a grandson starting college this fall so I was very interested in this article about the debate over in person vs. virtual opening of colleges this fall: Click here to access this resource. Racial Justice & Educational Resources for White People I thought you'd like these two episodes of Unlocking Us with Brené Brown Brené with Ibram X. Kendi on How to Be an Antiracist Here's what the first one is about: Brené talks with professor Ibram Kendi, New York Times bestselling author of How to Be an Antiracist and the Director of ... [Continue Reading]

Coronavirus & the Pandemic Response The Future of Travel and Tourism After the Coronavirus Pandemic Fascinating article on the future of travel: Click here to access this resource. Racial Justice & Educational Resources for White People RESOURCES FOR UNDERSTANDING WHITE SUPREMACY AND RACE IN AMERICA Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man In great numbers, the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police has awakened white America to the suffering our country has inflicted and continues to inflict on black Americans. In the past week, "[Continue Reading]

Coronavirus & the Pandemic Response Quarantine Fatigue Is Real. Shaming People Won't Help - The Atlantic An important article from the Atlantic about why shaming people for not following the rules of public health will inevitably fail: Click here to access this resource. Racial Justice & Educational Resources for White People LIVING ROOM CONVERSATIONS The folks at Living Room Conversations have been working for many years to help people have difficult conversations. They’re stepping right up with some great opportunities to help people start having hard, necessary, honest conversations about race and ... [Continue Reading]

RIGHT FROM THE SOURCE A wonderful talk about writing practice by my friend and mentor, Natalie Goldberg, who developed writing practice from her practice of Zen Buddhism. She first wrote about it in Writing Down the Bones in 1987. If it wasn’t for Natalie—her teachings, her brilliance and her blessing—I wouldn't be a writing teacher today. Click here to access this resource. A GREAT WELCOMING & CLARIFYING PODCAST FOR WHITE PEOPLE These two women are from Kentucky and they have a political podcast, Pantsuit Politics, that I follow weekly. One of them is on the right and one of them is on the left, and their tagline is “grace-filled political ... [Continue Reading]

I found this talk about where we go from here in terms of change very inspiring from the Obama foundation. President Obama joined Congressman John Lewis, Founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative Bryan Stevenson, Writer and Survivor of Police Brutality Leon Ford, Jr., and Youth Leader LeQuan Muhammad, in a conversation moderated by Activist and Author Darnell Moore. https://youtu.be/q_qB6SsErpA FASCINATING, IMPORTANT DIALOGUE Must-listen to conversation between Michael Lerner, co-founder of Commonweal, with Steve Heilig, epidemiologist and medical ethicist, on the ethics of the decisions being made in the First World to respond to the coronavirus pandemic with social isolation, when we consider the impact those choices are having on the developing world. ... [Continue Reading]