We’ll be able to do this again. Now’s the time to find new ways to laugh and play together.

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I have a friend whose husband who came down with a bad case of the flu. When things got REALLY bad, he took his beloved to the hospital where he was diagnosed with pneumonia and tested for Covid-19. A couple of days later, they got the test results back and it turns out he’s got the virus.

And he’s doing better since being in the hospital. Phew! He’ll be there another week at least, minimum 14 days, but he’s mending and that’s great.

My friend is home with their two little boys under the age of 5. It’s rough because they can’t go out and no one can come in, a whole new concept of home alone with kids. Imagine not being able to go out and play, having to be in a smallish apartment with little ones for weeks without a break. We have no idea how long they’ll be quarantined.

I’ve sent them a play tent with two crawl tunnels and I hope it will help wear them out and entertain them for hours. I wish I’d thought of it last week – it can’t get there soon enough!

I know others that have had symptoms but can’t get tested. They’re getting better, too. Phew!

In Masterful Living classes this week we’ve been talking about how we can reach out to people we know who might be having a tough time. I invite you to make a list of people that you can check in on and see how they’re doing. You never know when your phone call might make all the difference in the world to them.

Most of us know someone who doesn’t have a lot of family who lives alone, who is older, and in this kind of a situation they become isolated.

Someone without a spiritual practice, watching the news all day home alone, can really be way too much for them mentally and emotionally.

Who can you reach out to and check on?

Maybe it’s an aunt or a cousin that you hardly ever talk to. Get out your address book and start seeing what people are up to.

Make a list and get started connecting with them.

In Masterful Living we all have Zoom accounts. Get a free Zoom account and start having Zoom parties.

I have 4 Prayer Partners that meet with me every week on the phone. We’ve been doing it for about 13 or 14 years. Every now and then we have a special meeting and meet on Zoom. This week we did that and it was so good just to see each other.

I had a family meeting on Zoom with my brother, his wife, my niece and my nephew in one place, my nephew in Spain, my nephew in California, my Dad and his wife in North Carolina, and me. It was great!

My nephew, Ben, in California was quite despondent about the Bernie Sanders campaign, so I made my dad tell us all stories about campaigning in the 60s. My nephews had never heard these stories and it was great! (I’m encouraging him to work for the brilliant and beautiful Rep. Katie Porter who is his local rep.)

There was a beautiful moment when my dad got really choked up, remembering what those times were like for him and my mother. He told stories of my mother working for social justice and pushing me in the baby carriage. I remember being in marches against the Vietnam war with my mother, mothers and daughters marching on Mother’s Day. My nephews were so impressed, genuinely, and that was beautiful.

I am an instigator. I’m an activator. I feel compelled to see how I can be helpful.

It’s who I am.

And we’ve all got the same life purpose: to be TRULY helpful.

For many people, these times will be the most difficult times in their lives.

And we need to think of them right now and how we can help them.

This is the time of extreme pressure that forces people to get real and decide, are they going to change and grow or keep resisting? It will be very intense for many.

Let’s vow not to judge anyone and have compassion for everyone, even the ones who hoard toilet paper, even the ones who hoard protective masks when the healthcare workers have none. Judge no one, Love everyone.

We can do this – if we work together!