Given we’re in the middle of a internationally televised pandemic, we’re either anxious, sociopaths, or taking some really “sweet” drugs. If you are in that 3rd category, please send me a sample!
 
Anxiety leads most of us to the cupboards and refrigerator. I know I find myself craving sweets like ice cream and candy and cookies. Foods I usually avoid, and don’t even miss. Now an evening doesn’t go by that I don’t think of running down to the corner convenience store (in mask & gloves) to buy a pint – of ice cream.
 
Traditional Chinese Medicine has an explanation for that. The Healing Compass I describe in my book on Sustainable Health, based on TCM, places Anxiety at the hub of the compass, with Fear to the North and Anger to the East. Each point on the compass has a special flavor. Anxiety’s flavor is sweet. Of course.

Last week Auntie Sue recommended reading “deindustrial” or “post-industrial” science fiction. This relatively new genre invites writers to imagine a future where we come to terms with the finite limits of cheap energy (i.e. fossil fuels), the unsolved and ongoing dangers of nuclear waste from reactors, and the environmental and social consequences of our reliance on these forms of energy in our recent past. Writers must envision a livable future where people can thrive – without resorting to as yet undiscovered or imaginary new sources of unlimited energy (i.e. fantasy), total annihilation of all life forms, or salvation from extraterrestrial or religious figures.

It allows us to imagine a way forward, to explore futures that celebrate life in much the same way that technological science fiction has given us such modern conveniences as cell phones, laptop computers, the internet, and space exploration. All of this wonderful technology comes with serious environmental price tags we have kicked down the road for future generations. It calls us to start envisioning ways we will pay off this considerable debt – what will remain and what will be lost.

This post focuses on the interplay of Fear & Faith and how we can use our Imaginations to bridge that gap because when we let go of fear, it restores our ability to sleep peacefully, like a baby.
 
When I wrote the book, Sustainable Health: Simple Habits to Transform Your Life, I was surprised to learn just how profoundly Sleep affects our immune system, our health, and vitality – even more than Eating, more than exercise.
 
Fear. It’s everywhere – like water. We’re afraid of the dark, the unknown, and most especially an unseen virus called Covid-19, that has shaken our faith in science, our leaders, and the natural world.
 

Auntie Sue’s Pandemic Kitchen for Sustainable Health #1 – 4/82020
 
Today’s blog is about Having Fun! & Letting Go of Stress. If Life/Survival is a game, let’s play it well!    
 
Who isn’t freaked out by this virus?
-At best it strikes me as an episode from the Twilight Zone.
-On a bad day I worry we’re in a prequel to the Hunger Games.
 
In the Pandemic Kitchen I want shift our focus from the stressful emotions associated with this virus – Anger, Fear, Grief  - and see if we can’t help ourselves become more resilient by feeling these emotions and then letting them go so we can access Joy that we always carry somewhere in our hearts.