Welcome to the Gathering Room podcast, the audio version of my weekly gathering room broadcast.

I'm Martha Beck. Everybody is in everybody's house. And it takes, it's only been three minutes

since I pressed the button. And now all these countries are connected. So I wrote a bit about that in the book I just finished.

Today, today is the due date for my most recent book, which is now called Beyond Anxiety,

curiosity, creativity, and finding your life's purpose. Yes. And today is the due date. So according to my, you know, code of integrity,

it had to be done. So it is. I sent it in. And in September, when I came back from Australia,

Roe and I came back from Australia with our youngen, I realized I hadn't really written anything

worth reading.

And it was September.

It was mid-September.

And my book was due in January.

So I said to my beloveds, I am going into a hermit-like existence.

I went and I got a whole bunch of bottles of iced tea.

I will not say what brand.

This is not to advertise. But I got exactly enough bottles to last me from that day till today, if I drank one bottle a day. And then every

morning I would get up early, slug my tea back, gong, and then just stay in my bedroom,

like often until mid-afternoon and I did that

for I think 105 straight days and it changed a lot of things I grew flabbier and weaker my eyesight got bad. Like all I can see anymore is a screen

exactly a certain distance from my face. My far-sightedness, which is supposed to be age-related,

went away. But somehow I became near-sighted instead. I have to wait to see if it changes back.

Anyway, that was my whole life. And even when I went out

and did things in the late afternoon, we're talked to you all. My mind was always like 95% on this book.

...