Love in the Time of Coronavirus š
Sup, my wee dolphins? Checking in. How arrrrre you?
If youāre like me, you donāt really know how you are. There is some legit scary stuff going on outside our windows. And weāre living in this surreal landscape of never really knowing if weāre over- or under-reacting from one minute to the next. Itās like a fever dream where a hot dude handing you a Mai Tai on the beach suddenly turns into a creepy clown handing you a dead thingāand youāre immediately all about that social distancing as you run away screaming.
But the weirdest part? Itās that weāre all in it together. Think about that. Every person on earth, save for maybe the residents of North Sentinel Island, the Amazon Jungle, and Niihau (hopefully), is going through this experience at the same time. When has that ever happened in our lifetime? Never.
The virus doesnāt discriminate. If weāre lucky enough to come out of this with a silver lining, we may see this pandemic become a great leveler in societies that have been choked by the chasm between the Haves and Have-nots. Or not. But an idealist can dream. And I am an idealist through and throughāone that spent an hour sobbing like a soggy baboon watching videos of Italians serenading one another from their balconies.
Regardless of how this situation ultimately pans out, thereās one thing we can all do to ease the burdenāon ourselves and others. And it is not hoarding disinfectant spray and toilet paper. Seriously. I hope all the hoarders get hemorrhoids for life. Really, really itchy ones and thereās never any hemorrhoid ointment on the shelves (Thatās not very loving of me I suppose, but whatever). Instead of hoarding, we can give. Specifically, give the love.
Thatās what this message is really about. Giving the love. Specifically, to Lauren Sapala (Lauren, Iām sorry for mentioning hemorrhoids in the same piece as I praise your awesomeness. Please forgive me.). While maintaining social distancing, Iām going to hurl great whale-sized loads of love at Lauren.
You see, Lauren is not only a brilliant writer, a coach for other brilliant writers, and an inspiration for introverted feelers seeking to use their voices in powerful ways (especially when their voices are a little unconventional), sheās also a big reason why I do what I do.
Iād always had these big, bold ideas kicking around my noodle. But it wasnāt until I read one of Laurenās books, The INFJ Writer: Cracking the Creative Genius of the Worldās Rarest Type, back in 2016 that I was given permission to do something with them. Lauren helped me realize that ideas and art have value. My ideas and art have value, not just other peopleās. And that is a gift that fucking never stops giving, darlings.
Since then Iāve gotten to coach, write, speakāand basically proselytize until I start to turn a weird cerulean-plus-flesh color and need to snork my inhalerāon the virtues of being a bold introvert. I get to do that for a living. So when I say that Lauren is a force of nature who deserves all the brownies in the universe, I mean it.
As part of National Introvert Week (woot!), Lauren and I have both sought to support introverts through our ideas and art as part of the Ultimate Introvert Giveaway, hosted by yet another brilliant innie, Alice Southern of The Introvert Library. Lauren, in her signature generous-to-the-level-of-straight-up-badassery style, is offering her e-book Firefly Magic: Heart Powered Marketing for Highly Sensitive Writers for free. Itās exceptional. You should really stop reading this right now and go get itā¦
WAIT!!! Donāt stop reading quite yet. Because thereās one more thing I want to say.
Weāre all feeling a little trapped. Even those of us who relish time alone like itās happy hour on that beach where the hot dude brings you Mai Tais. The rebels among us (if you opted-in to this list for introverts raising some serious hell, youāre probably one of us) reeeeeeally donāt like being told what to do. āStay inside.ā Iāve literally never want to leave the house so much in my life. āDonāt touch your face.ā Why. Canāt. I. Stop. Touching. My. Fecking. Face?!?!
The way we can make the best of it is to give the loveāfrom at least 6 feet away, of course. Take this extra time alone and reach out to someone every damned day to tell them how rad they make your life.
Send an email. Or an emoji-laden text thread. Or YouTube links to awesome songs you know theyāll love but have probably never heard. Film yourself doing an interpretive dance showcasing your admiration and blast that shit far and wide. Whatever your chosen mode of communication, let people know they matter. It will make us all feel a little less alone.
And in a bit of shameless self-promotion (and genuine promotion of nine other beautiful souls who gave of themselves so others could benefit), go to The Ultimate Introvert Giveaway and check out what weāre offering. Then, share the love and tell someone else about it. Weāre all turning inward these days, so give someone you love a few tools to squeeze all the juice out of it.
