A short note for those whose level of concern about COVID-19 is growing, or for anyone who is struggling with anxiety or concern in their lives.
We cannot think or feel our way through anxiety and suffering. When they are real, they are felt, and nothing we do can change that, but we can adopt a mental position that lessens suffering.
The bigger and scarier events get, the more helpful it can be to focus on the immediate. Take a walk and focus on what it feels like to have breath move in and out of your lungs. Hug a loved one and notice the warmth. Clean your room. Focus on doing something, to detach from thinking things and feeling things.
It doesn’t make anything better but it can make things more bearable.
Forthright 