I dread more than I used to. The virus, the post office, deadlines: they’re all contributing to a constant uneasy feeling that, some days, approaches despair. I’ve never experienced anything like it.
Dread is not necessary, of course. The wherewithal to check in with ourselves and to check out all these sources peppering us with bad news is especially critical in times like this. It’s worth asking: if I’m immobilized by dread right now, who benefits?
Yet, it’s not all in our heads. Things are legitimately bad right now, and they’re much worse for many, many other people than they are for me. The trends don’t look favorable and the leadership is making a show of its disregard. This is no time to put on a happy face.
A brave face, though? That feels more like it. Let’s take courage from the examples of those women and men who have it the hardest as well as the ones who came before, who endured war and famine, and pestilence with resolve and character. I think they dreaded plenty; they knew the score. But their dread did not defeat them.
YoRocko! 
Thank you, Rocky. I needed this, especially on Monday morning. “Who benefits?” is a question I’ve seen a lot in my favorite reading, detective stories, and as I learned how to write the one I just finished. It’s a question that is asked when there has been a crime. Therefore, I’m going to tell myself that being immobilized is that crime. Be law-abiding, if not calm, and carry on!