Sir Patrick Stewart has been calming me down for six months now. Throughout shelter in place, every time thereâs a new piece of apocalyptic news; every time my chest starts feeling tight or my heart starts racing; every time I feel on the verge of a meltdown, the fix is the same. I scramble over to Sir Patrickâs Instagram page and listen to him reading the sonnets of Shakespeare.
He has been doing this every single day for six months now. And he knew from the get-go how people like me would be using them. As he said back in March, âA sonnet a day keeps the doctor away.â
View this post on Instagram It has led me to undertake what follows. When I was a child in the 1940s, my mother would cut up slices of fruit for me (there wasn't much) and as she put it in front of me she would say: "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." How about, âA sonnet a day keeps the doctor awayâ? So…here we go: Sonnet 1. A post shared by Patrick Stewart (@sirpatstew) on Mar 22, 2020 at 4:28pm PDT
Iâm not going to lieâI donât always understand the content of all of the sonnets. And sometimes I donât even try to. It doesnât really matter, truth be told. Because the sound of Sir Patrickâs calm, beautifully enunciated voice is always soothing. His relaxed demeanor and peaceful facial expressions are somehow infectious. And even when he misses a beat, his delivery is a delight.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Patrick Stewart (@sirpatstew) on Apr 9, 2020 at 5:43pm PDT
Watching him has become a form of meditation. But this week, Sir Patrick upped the stakes and brought his foster dog into the mix. (I will be scrolling back to this one for weeks to come.)
View this post on Instagram @WagsAndWalks A post shared by Patrick Stewart (@sirpatstew) on Sep 6, 2020 at 6:15pm PDT
And this morning when I woke up in San Francisco to a bleak, dark sky and red horizon, and immediately started to feel the walls closing in, I went straight to yesterdayâs sonnet to calm down. (One made all the better by one commenter noting, âI donât know whatâs more rich and buttery, your voice or that leather chair.â)
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Patrick Stewart (@sirpatstew) on Sep 8, 2020 at 5:04pm PDT
It was impossible to foresee at the beginning of 2020 just how badly I would one day need Sir Patrick Stewart reading bite-sized Shakespeare on social media. But I do. And maybe you do too. It has proven to be one of the only consistently pleasant features in an otherwise anxiety-inducing year.
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