To be real-real, at first, I was not buying into the hysteria. But when I started hearing about people ransacking stores for staples like rice, pasta and toilet paper (I still don’t get the toilet paper scarcity mindset y’all, can someone please explain?), I thought I might have been underestimating the situation. Feelings of panic began to surge.

Then it hit me.

All these years of coping with personal tragedies have taught me a few things about dealing with personal, professional and spiritual stress:

1. Breathe. When you start to worry about anything, focus on your breath and breathe deeply 10 times in and out. It also helps to focus on the energy running through your fingers. That’s a tip I picked up from spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle.
2. Get some exercise. If you can go on a walk. If you are quarantined, research YouTube and do workouts from home. My friends at the San Francisco CrossFit are posting online workouts from home on their website.
3. Look for the helpers. That’s where there’s hope. This is sage wisdom from the late Mr. Fred Rogers. I’ve taken this another step and reached out to a hero I was inspired by when I started to feel powerless.

Last week, I was on the lookout for heroes and I found Ashley Gin Fong Linker. Her chance encounter with an elderly Asian woman in New York City gave me hope. Here’s her post in the private Facebook group “Asian Hustle Network”:

I called my friend, Benny Luo, founder of NextShark to brainstorm ways to quell the coronavirus craze. 

I was saddened to discover they’ve been inundated with emails and DMs about the outbreak of attacks on the global Asian community. He told me that we all need to do whatever is in our power to lift one another up. 

As a journalist and someone who loves leveraging storytelling to inspire audiences to action, I knew I could create some content to help raise awareness and empathy. That’s when the idea struck. I reached out to Ashley (Facebook/Instagram) to start the conversation around the racism and xenophobia.

We had a heartfelt conversation and decided to record this Instagram Live conversation, a follow-up to what happened after her act of kindness. I hope this helps you calm your nerves and inspires you to think about what you can do to elevate the human experience. WE have more power than we know. Don’t feel powerless, regain your power and take action.

What can you do?

Don’t panic, take action:

1. Use your power to help. Toan is a journalist whose gift of connecting with people led him to share stories like Ashley’s.
2. Ashley is a badass black belt-wielding woman who walked home a terrified Asian grandmother who was afraid of being attacked.
3. Like/share this conversation. The more awareness around this topic, the more healing will take place.

When I hear stories like Ashley’s, I couldn’t help but think about how that one kind act — walking a frightened po-po home — affected her, restored humanity for her and comforted her.

Be safe, be well. Check on an elderly neighbor and the immunocompromised. Air hug!

Xx
Toan

* Special thanks to @nextshark and @angryasianman for keeping us up to date on the latest news about how the coronavirus craze is affecting our communities.

The post Amid the ‘Manic Panic,’ a Call for Coronavirus Heroes appeared first on Go Inspire Go.

My phone had rung and I answered it saying, “Happy New Year, Mom!” She was more peppy than usual, telling me about how her trip to L.A. was going. After a short chat with her, I heard my uncle yell in the background, “Kobe Bryant passed away! Helicopter crash.”

Stunned and in denial, I did a quick search online. TMZ had confirmed the story. I held on to the hope that it was a false report from a source I never really cared for, but it was true. All nine people perished in a chopper crash in Southern California.

I wondered why I was in such shock over this news. I’m admittedly not a big sports fan, so I didn’t follow Kobe during his playing days. Was it the fact that I was celebrating my birthday and Kobe and I were both born in 1978? Was it because his daughter Gianna was around the same age as my niece whom I love and adore?

I’m still processing this tragedy and feeling the feels. Every time I’m filled with sadness, I turn to writing to let the therapeutic process flow. I realized that death has taught me so much more about life — and truly living in the present moment.

Here’s a video diary summarizing my thoughts. I hope it inspires you to feel the feels and express your emotions the way that is best for you, be it writing, singing, being silent or walking in nature.

Celebrate every day like it’s your birthday and hug your loved ones like it’s their last day.

Xx
Toan

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The post Why This Non-Sports Fan Was Shook by Kobe’s Death appeared first on Go Inspire Go.