Episode #18: Chicago Nurse, Alicia Bean, Isolates Fear to Find Joy
How do you isolate fear to find joy?
My guest today is Alicia Bean. One of our country’s frontline nurses in Chicago, Alicia is putting her life at risk in an effort to save lives during the coronavirus pandemic.
She is generously blessed with humility, compassion, and determination to care for others and is deferential to courage. Instead of ascribing it to herself, she attributes it to her colleagues, essential workers and volunteers alike.
Fear lives in what she calls the lizard brain–the part of the brain that triggers our fight or flight response (like the rush to buy toilet paper during a pandemic).
In turn, self-awareness helps calm our entire system, slow down our response, and lift our primitive survival instincts to a higher place of logic and reason. This is when we can discern the degree and reality of threats that fear imposes.
Regardless of circumstance, recognizing these moments allows us to stop, catch our breath, isolate fear, and increase our capacity to find joy.
Thank you to Alicia, her colleagues, and all of the selfless people who are risking their lives to make other lives better. You are inspiring hope and spreading joy. Let’s make that contagious.
Until next time,
Be Bold. Be Brave. Be Daring–and take a bite of courage.
Love,
Mo
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Alicia, you are a beautiful person inside and out. So glad to be able to call you friend! Thank you for using your gift and strength for the good of others!
Hi Erica,
Thanks for your feedback about Alicia. She seems to touch every life she encounters! What a blessing she is. Thank you again for sharing…
Alicia is an excellent role model and very compassionate nurse. It is an honor to have worked side by side with her.
Hi Sheila, So nice to hear from you! How nice that you got to work with Alicia, first hand. Are you a nurse, as well?
A very thought-filled and obviously timely interview. During this pandemic, I have often thought of those dying alone. It was reassuring to me to realize that selfless people like Alicia are there to help the dying make their transition. The core of the gospels are the Beatitudes and medical staff are living those essential teachings daily as they assist the sick and dying. I am certain they will be richly blessed for their courage.
On occasion, I have witnessed people who could not control the “reptile brain.” I do not judge them harshly, but that failure in control places them and others in even greater danger than their initial perceptions of danger. The antidote to fear is in fact courage. And perhaps the foundation of courage is trust. “This is the day the Lord has made.”
Such a beautiful and insightful comment. Thank you, GT, and thank you for your continuous feedback…