Until about two weeks ago, we were living in normal times. We took for granted that we could travel when and where we wanted, attend theaters, concerts, and religious services, go shopping…  Life wasn’t perfect—we worried about the election. We had our own personal issues and troubles.

We began to hear about the Coronavirus-19, which was worrisome. But almost nothing affected our daily lives—unless we happened to be in China or Italy…

Now, from day to day, we are losing all the little elements of normal life. Virtually everything that makes life worth living involves being with other people—those we love and care about and also our larger communities.

My husband and I just cancelled a trip to visit our children who live in Israel. We are very sad about this, but we had no choice. If we had gone, we would have been put in quarantine for two weeks and would not have been able to be with them.

We live in a senior housing complex where all the residents are elderly, and many have chronic conditions. The housing administrators have placed restrictions on who can visit us and when. This is understandable—they want to protect their residents. But their strict rules constrict our social lives.

Uncertainty—this is what is frightening. Will global efforts be effective and efficient in limiting the spread of this disease? How much damage will be done to our world? Will we and our loved ones escape this pandemic? Will our lives return to normal—and if so, when?

Suddenly the world is turned upside down. And it really is the world—our one and only Earth, our home. If we ever needed to understand how much we are residents of one Earth, how much we are affected by everything that happens all over this Earth, we have that harsh lesson now. We are ONE—all over the Earth. We need to care about what happens to the people in Wuhan…and Italy…and Germany…and Iran… They are us.

My wish to all of us—that we remain healthy—and also compassionate—in difficult times.