Hamlet: "To be (panicked), or not to be (panicked), that is the question."
    Upon first realizing we were in a pandemic, like Hamlet, I tried to feign madness but Most Beautiful One (not Trude's real name) was having nothing to do with it! She reminded me that Winston Churchill said, "Fear is a reaction, courage is a decision." So, each morning and evening after checking the news, I go to my gohonzon to chant nam myoho renge kyo and make a new determination not to panic. Afterwards, I go to my YouTube feed and watch NPR's  Tiny Desk Concerts . There are hundreds of short intimate performances by a wide variety of talented musicians...some famous, some on the rise, all entertaining.
   Hamlet: "Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune..."
   I figure I have no choice but to suffer some of the effects of this global pandemic. Especially since we are all connected to each other and the earth. So what hurts one, hurts us all (no matter what some people think). At the same time, I get to choose how I react to the fear and illness.
   Eleanor Roosevelt said, "If you can live through [a difficult situation] you can live through anything. You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along."
   While we are bunkered down in our home, I try to avoid insulating myself from family, friends and our island community. For instance, we've been using Zoom to read to our grandkids and having lively Buddhist discussion meetings. And, I am using writing and music to spread hope to myself and others. "Hope," to quote Vaclav Havel, "is in our mind, not the state of the world".   
   Hamlet: "The proud man's contumely, the pangs of dispriz'd love, the law's delay, the insolence of office, and the spurns, that patient merit of th'unworthy takes..."
  Apparently, Mister Shakespeare could predict the future. Yes, William, we still have excessive palace intrigue, egoist and vengeful leaders, corporate greed, and a host of other human failings. But, we also have the compassion and, I believe, the wisdom and courage necessary to meet this challenge and to save our planet.  
   If all else fails, I can go to my favorite web site, Daisaku Ikeda quotes, and sometimes, to this LINK for live streams, virtual concerts and films to watch during the coronavirus crisis as well as a U.S. State-by-State resource guide for music professionals who need help. Because, "Music speaks directly to the heart. This response, this echo within the heart, is proof that human hearts can transcend the barriers of time and space and nationality." - Daisaku Ikeda  
   Stay Safe!