How is everyone feeling? This week, I read that after World War II, researcher Anna Freud discovered the children left behind in London during the war to endure the bombings with their families actually suffered less trauma than the children who were sent away to the country. Freud concluded that “the physical injury is often not the harshest part of trauma; it’s the breakdown of relationships during and after.”
If you’re in need of an uplifting boost of connection and community during the COVID-19 quarantine, Pickett Street’s Margaret Smith has you covered. Margaret recently started Operation: Tungsten Light with her friends and colleagues Ande Dunn and Sarah Troske. According to Margaret, she started the group because she “realized very quickly that fear and anxiety were creeping in” for her loved ones.
Read more about Margaret’s Tungsten Light, as well as other positive online resources for this tough time. Additionally, if you are feeling anxious about real estate and would like to know more about buying or selling your home right now, get in touch with Pickett Street at (425) 502-5397 or info@pickettstreet.com.
Tungsten Light’s purpose is to spread light, love and positivity. Margaret, Sarah, and Ande also wanted to provide folks with a space where they can feel a sense of schedule and community.
Margaret says, “For the next 30 days, we have participants lined up to speak, teach, play music, and discuss anything from mindset and intuition, to plants, photography, and any other topic that would be fun! This will not be a place for updates on COVID-19.” Amen to that.
Yale’s Free Science of Wellbeing Course
Yale students loved psychology professor Laurie Santos’ Psychology and the Good Life class so much that it quickly became the most popular course in the university’s 317-year history. And, during the COVID-19 quarantine, Yale is offering an amazing opportunity: anyone can take this class online for free!
The class covers misconceptions about happiness; why our expectations are so bad; how we can overcome our biases; stuff that really makes us happy; and how to put wellbeing strategies into practice.
For those of us 80s and 90s kids, this resource promises to be truly soothing. LaVar Burton, of Star Trek, Roots, and Reading Rainbow fame, will be reading both children’s and adult short stories.
Burton’s first reading will be tonight, April 3rd at 6pm PST, featuring a short story for adults by Neil Gaiman. You can access these live streams by going to his Twitter page: @Levarburton.
Nightly Opera Streams From the Met
Currently closed for the quarantine, New York’s Metropolitan Opera has chosen to host live streams of their operas every night for the next several weeks. The opera is live starting at 4:30pm PST and is available until 3:30pm PST the following day.
Tonight, the Met will stream Bizet’s Les Pêcheurs de Perles. On Saturday, April 4th, it’s Verdi’s Macbeth, and Sunday, April 5th is Bellini’s Norma.
You can stream through the Met Opera on Demand apps for Apple, Amazon, and Roku devices and Samsung Smart TV.
What else is everyone doing to stay sane and connected to their communities?
We’d love to hear from you! Reach out at (425) 502-5397 or info@pickettstreet.com.