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Wellness

Soul-soothing Patrick Stewart has started reciting Shakespeare's sonnets and people are swooning

Sir Patrick Stewart/Twitter

Patrick Stewart could read the phone book and people would listen, so it's not entirely surprising that folks are going gaga over him reading Shakespeare's sonnets. Stewart has been reciting #ASonnetADay from his home, much to fans' delight.

There's something particularly soothing about the Star Trek and X-men actor reciting poetry to us during a pandemic quarantine. Perhaps it hearkens to a quainter time, when people would sit and read to one another by firelight instead of arguing over Twitter about who's the worst human being in Tiger King. Stewart's attempt to elevate our entertainment to something beyond the banal and the sensational is admirable.

If reading Shakespeare during a global crisis seems out of touch somehow—perhaps too uppity or elitist—remember that Shakespeare lived during the plague era. A quarter of the population of his hometown was wiped out from bubonic plague during his childhood, and several more outbreaks wreaked havoc on the society in which he lived as he grew older.

As an article in The Conversation points out, "Epidemic disease was a feature of Shakespeare's life. The plays he created often grew from an awareness about how precarious life can be in the face of contagion and social breakdown." He was also a provincial commoner—just a normal guy, who also happened to have extraordinary writing capabilities. So Shakespeare's writing really isn't so far removed from our current reality—in fact, he probably had a better handle on what we're experiencing than most modern day artists.

So enjoy Sir Patrick Stewart sharing Shakespeare's love poems in his beautiful baritone voice, and follow him on Twitter to get a your daily dose of #ASonnetADay.

He occasionally skips a sonnet because it's too difficult to read or because he simply doesn't like it. You do you, Sir Patrick.

And he frequently gives an intro about the specific sonnet or about Shakespeare's poetry in general. Sir Patrick bringing the learnin'.

So far, he's brought us to Sonnet 18, the famous "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day..." poem. Just beautiful. Thank you, Sir Patrick, for using your voice to soothe us through this pandemic with one of humanity's greatest works.

From Your Site Articles

The weather is kind of gorgeous across much of the United States right now.

Never mind that it's probably an ominous sign of our ever-changing climate — the sun is shining and life is grand!

I know it doesn't always seem like it, but there is truly so, so much to be happy about. Don't believe me? I'll prove it.

Here are 11 pieces of news from this week that will definitely boost your mood.

1. Holi, the Hindu festival of color, brings with it stunning photos in all shades of the rainbow.

This year, the Holi celebration will be March 12-13.

Photo by Dmitry Serebryakov/Stringer.

2. Starburst released a special single-flavor bag. (It's all pink. Duh.)

It's real and, frankly, long overdue.

3. A high school in Utah put in laundry machines and showers for its homeless students.

According to WGN in Chicago, East High School officials say they have up to 100 students who aren't able to shower or do laundry on a daily basis. And these aren't just "nice-to-haves"; evidence shows that when kids are embarrassed about their clothes or hygiene, they're more likely to skip school.

Bravo to the folks at East High for tackling the problem in the most direct way possible.

Image by Tim Boyle/Getty Images.

4. A sweet Facebook messaging robot is helping refugees navigate the difficult path to asylum.

Stanford University student Joshua Browder invented the technology to help people automatically fight parking tickets.

Now it's making a much bigger impact on people's lives by helping refugees figure out which applications they need, translating complex language into plain English for non-native speakers, and assisting in completing the necessary forms.

5. This touching photo of a young boy comforting his four-month-old brother with cancer.

"[Big brother] is here," he said, according to his mom, who took the photo. "Everything is OK."

6. These cute 'lil ramps are helping ducklings get in and out of a canal in Indianapolis.

Save. The. Ducks.

7. This professor whose kids wandered into the room while he was giving a live TV interview.

We are all the kid in the yellow shirt.

8. This video of actor Patrick Stewart ("Logan") and his adorable foster dog, Ginger.

"Pibble" is dog-owner for pit bull, by the way.

9. This Facebook group in Ohio that is hiding painted rocks to brighten the days of random strangers.

Because who doesn't love a little mystery and surprise?

10. This dude who PADDLEBOARDED across the Atlantic Ocean.

Apparently anything really is possible.

11. And this dad who had a touching talk with his son about getting bullied for having long hair.

"Just because you're unique and don't look like everyone else doesn't mean you're weird or that being different is a bad thing," he told his son.

See, good news is all around us, even when things feel bleak or scary or trying. You might have to look a little harder for it some days, but I promise you, it's worth it!

Lawyers' Committee

Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights

'All my friends in Washington said, "There is one thing you can do: fight."'

Sir Patrick Stewart is a man of many roles, but it's his latest that might be the most daring of all: American citizen.

While on "The View" to discuss what it was like playing Charles Xavier one final time in "Logan," Stewart announced that, after 30 years as a permanent resident of the U.S., he's decided to pursue citizenship.

GIFs from The View/YouTube.

Citing a desire to "fight" back against the Trump administration and its policies, the 76-year-old is taking a leap that will likely have him ready to cast votes in the 2018 and 2020 elections.

If he doesn't like Trump, why would he want to become a citizen? Aren't people packing up and moving to Canada? So, about that...

It may come as a shock, but though many people make sweeping pronouncements about leaving the country if a certain politician gets elected or a specific policy becomes law, few actually do it. In 2010, conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh pledged to move to Costa Rica if the Affordable Care Act became law (a bit of irony: Limbaugh slammed the ACA as being "socialized medicine," while Costa Rica offers actual socialized medicine). During the 2016 election, a number of celebrities suggested they'd move to Canada in the event of a Trump victory.

As it stands, Limbaugh still lives in the U.S, and there hasn't been some mass exodus from Hollywood in the wake of Trump's win. And for good reason.

For one, it's actually really hard for Americans to become Canadian citizens. To most people, it's simply not worth the time, money, and hassle to pack up and move to a new country just because you don't like a politician.

Photo by William Thomas Cain/Getty Images.

Beyond that, escaping American policies isn't as simple as crossing a border — something Stewart has noted on social media before.

"What the White House does ripples round the world," he tweeted in 2015. He's right. What the U.S. does affects the rest of the globe, just as an action taken by another global superpower like China, the United Kingdom, or Russia, affects the U.S.

How any one country reacts to some issues, such as climate change, will affect us all. In short, most issues caused by politicians aren't simply things we can run from. That's why Stewart's approach makes so much sense.

Photo by Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images.

It is worth noting the privilege Stewart has to be able to simply decide he wants to become a U.S. citizen. What may be easy for him isn't so easy for people with fewer resources.

And that's why we need real, comprehensive immigration reform. Just this week, a 22-year-old woman named Daniela Vargas was arrested and will be deported without a hearing. Though undocumented, Vargas was here as a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient. She was waiting on her DACA renewal to come through when she was detained.

The current immigration system makes it easy for well-off celebrities like Stewart to become citizens (which could take as little as a few months in his particular case), but doesn't offer a pathway to citizenship for people like Vargas. That needs to change. Still, it's good to see that Stewart is doing what he can to join in the fight for what he believes in with his voice and with his vote.

Watch Stewart's interview on "The View" below.

His father was an abuser. After Patrick Stewart found out PTSD was a factor, he made this appeal.

Sir Patrick Stewart's father, Alfred, was a World War II hero. He fought valiantly in the Battle of Dunkirk, a tactically important conflict. But when he came home, he continued to fight.

Stewart has shared his story about his father's abuse with millions, but this is a new way of thinking about it — even for him.

1. Post-traumatic stress disorder is a recently coined term but not a recently discovered condition.

Images via BBC/YouTube.

Back then they called it "shell shock," "war neurosis," or "combat stress reaction," if they called it anything at all. It wasn't until 1980 that the American Psychological Association recognized PTSD as a specific, diagnosable disorder with specific symptoms — the same year Alfred Stewart died. Patrick Stewart didn't realize that his father suffered from PTSD until 2012.

2. Though the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts are considered American campaigns, more than 220,000 British troops deployed there as well.

They have similarly experienced tragic casualties, devastating physical injuries, and lasting mental injuries. King's College in London studied a group of British troops who deployed and found that 27.2% showed symptoms of mental disorders [PDF].

3. Symptoms may not surface right away.

James Saunders (featured in the video) didn't start having PTSD symptoms right after returning home. It wasn't until he had a totally unrelated personal tragedy that brought his war experiences flooding back. Knowing the warning signs can help prevent a crisis if an uneventful transition home turns for the worst.

4. 1 in 5 veterans develop PTSD or major depression. But 4 in 5 don't.

Don't assume every veteran is suffering from a mental illness. Veterans are disproportionately affected by mental health issues, but they aren't the only ones. Mental illness among college students is soaring, but no one assumes that of them.

5. A person with PTSD may not show all the classic symptoms severely or all at once.

As he said in the video, Gary Driscoll's PTSD symptoms started small and got bigger. First he experienced anxiety, then started misusing alcohol, then losing control of his anger. One at a time, not all at once.

Anyone who experiences a trauma will likely experiences some PTSD-like symptoms, but when those symptoms persist and worsen instead of go away, it's time to get help.

6. PTSD is not the only mental health issue that can come from war trauma.

PTSD is the most common, but those who have combat-related mental health issues may experience depression, substance use problems, or generalized anxiety. Traumatic brain injury — somewhat like a very severe concussion — from exposure to a bomb blast can also cause mental health issues.

7. The key to recovery for Gary and James was access to consistent, quality care.

Combat Stress, the charity Patrick Stewart spoke about, and the National Health Service are the primary ways British vets get care for war-related mental health issues. In the United States, there are many private charities that provide some mental health assistance, but private insurance and the Veterans Health Administration are the primary ways American veterans get care.

Unlike the U.K.'s NHS, V.A. hospitals have been wracked with scandal after scandal regarding its inability to provide consistent, quality care to the more than 22 million American veterans.

8. People who experience abnormal thoughts, feelings, or behaviors that could be attributed to mental health issues don't seek help because of shame.

PTSD symptoms have been stigmatized ever since the "shell shock" days. Veterans who had difficulty adjusting after war were called cowards, lacking in character, malingering, whiny, or weak. To this day, the stigma associated with mental health issues is one of the chief barriers keeping service members and veterans who need care from seeking it out — even if it is available.

If you or someone you know is struggling, don't do it alone. Find a Guinan.

GIF from "Star Trek: The Next Generation."