Hi to all my readers: I had stepped away from writing posts these past few months as I have been busy with other parts of my life that needed my focus. A lot has happened-some good and some not so good.

But if you had asked me a few months back if I ever thought there would be a health crisis that would rock our world like the coronavirus, I would have scoffed at the idea. And yet here we are-in the middle of a pandemic that has affected all of us. Life has thrown us a big curveball that seems to have stopped many of us in our tracks. That curveball is FEAR.

The coronavirus is a virus-it doesn’t make the stock market plummet or suspend professional sports from playing. It doesn’t require that we all self-quarantine ourselves if we have not encountered people who have the virus. And it does not require life to come to a standstill -yet, that’s exactly what it feels like! Schools are shutting down for the semester, airplanes are empty, trails are closed, local sporting events do not allow spectators and shelves in the grocery stores are bare- I mean, what’s up with the run on toilet paper???

My industry (events) has literally been stopped in it’s tracks-there are no large meetings or events that will take place in the next two months-and although I understand the reasoning behind all the postponements, this will have a major impact on my peers overall income for the coming months-and will undoubtedly lead to more panic for those who are affected.

Note: Since I first published this a few hours ago, cancellations have increased drastically that takes us to a new level of panic-Disneyland has closed for the month, all concerts have been postponed, all NCAA sports and professional sports have been suspended until further notice, more schools are closing across the country and the list goes on.

Is all this fear and panic necessary? Absolutely not! But we live in a world of 24 hour news and updates on our phones, our computers and our TVs.

It’s hard not to read or watch updates on this pandemic on an hour by hour basis. The media/social media are definitely keeping us informed yet also increasing our sense of fear- which ultimately leads to panic. And panic can lead to even further health issues totally unrelated to the coronavirus

Here’s an article in the LA times that makes a lot of sense:

https://enewspaper.latimes.com/desktop/latimes/default.aspx?pubid=50435180-e58e-48b5-8e0c-236bf740270e Pg. 11, “When fear upends daily life”

So, while this virus continues to be an ongoing issue, wash your hands ALOT, sneeze/cough into your arm, and maybe don’t shake as many hands as you normally do. But do get out and live your life as best you can within the limits that have now been mandated-it’s important that life goes on and we move past the fear.