This is not a story of a date that didn\’t work out (or did). It\’s not about the last crush where everything started out great but got nowhere. It\’s not just about learning to live and discovering myself through my personal relationships (but it is). This is not a romantic love story between two individuals. This is a love story between me and my soul. And, at the same time, a love story between me and the world. In other words, between us and the world! We are living in times of forced social isolation never seen before. A time in which the world must stop so that we do not reach an even more tragic socioeconomic collapse. A time in which the reality of not being able to think only of ourselves knocked on our door saying stay at home, that way you won\’t risk killing someone. Yes, that\’s what it\’s all about: killing each other by exposing ourselves to a virus that is easily contaminated and that fatally affects people whose health is more fragile. But, as if that weren\’t enough, it\’s not just that either. When all this started, my rationality saw in science, in statistics, its reason for not panicking. A few weeks ago, as I started to see Americans get desperate, running to buy masks and hand sanitizer, I was saying to myself and others that as long as we wash our hands well and more often, everything will be fine. Coincidentally (or not), I was in the process of strengthening my faith, meditating, reading and attending a spiritist center close to home. I couldn\’t stop working and until then I kept believing that we wouldn\’t need to get to that point. I was still calm. Last week the streets began to empty. Companies have already started sending some employees to work from home. Events were being cancelled. Restaurants and bars were little by little seeing their movements fall. All this before any official action was taken by the government. I realized, as many people do, that I too would soon lose my job. But it was okay. Somehow I knew I was going to be okay. A week ago I had arranged to go to a friend\’s birthday party at a bar, but too many people had canceled. Yet he said that if I was still in the mood he would keep the celebration going, because he didn\’t know when he would be able to celebrate in the midst of all this. I felt a little sorry for him, so I decided to keep my word and go. The bar was still full, as if nothing was happening. we drink, we talked and laughed for long hours. The next day, when I got up I knew that it had been the last outing for a long time. I felt like I had risked myself and other people\’s lives. The virus facing humanity has no face. He doesn\’t choose age, gender, color or social class. Sunday I cleaned my room and also did my mental cleaning. So, I decided to go for a walk in a park close to home, the day was beautiful outside. I felt really good. There were other people walking, it was like it was all the first day of summer. But clearly we weren\’t. On Sunday night, the governor of the State of Massachusetts prohibited the opening of places where more than 25 people gather and declared restaurants and bars open only for delivery and withdrawal of food. On Monday I went to work knowing that would be my last day. I was calm about that too. I think the faith I\’ve been strengthening over the last few months tells me I won\’t be in need. But a concern began to seriously take hold of me, which was that while I was on the street I would be at risk of catching and transmitting the disease. Me, anyone and everyone in this world is a walking vector. The problem is not just in places where a larger number of people gather. The problem is that from the moment I take a train or bus where an infected person has passed, I could be acquiring the virus. If I go to the market or the pharmacy, which are the places most frequented by people here lately, I could be contaminating myself. And in the meantime, in the middle of the way, crossing other people, I\’m threatening their lives and anyone else connected with them. It\’s a domino effect. I thought about my parents. Both over 65 years old. Both with pre-existing health problems and in the risk group. I started to think about the parents of friends, uncles, neighbors, I started to remember every old man and little old lady who, unpretentiously, gave me a sincere smile in my life and advice received from those who lived longer than me and who always have something to add. That reflection touched me deeply. More than ever, I was able to understand the consequences of my actions on other people\’s lives and theirs on mine. I was grateful for not having to go to work anymore. I started asking earnestly, with arguments and official information, for friends and family to stay at home. I let them know I wouldn\’t see them again until this was over and we were all safe. I started to be the house girl in the apartment I share with three other roommates. They still seem to act like all of this is far from them. I decided to isolate myself in my room and use the shared areas only for what was really necessary. Unfortunately I cannot touch the soul of another human being as mine was touched. I have been trying to do my part, but awareness is something individual and everyone will learn (or not) in their own time and in their own way. However, a series of other attitudes of many people alerted me to the urgency of perceiving the distorted way we are seeing and living in this world. People crowding, hastily and desperately, into the markets to buy everything they can, as if they were never going to find something to eat again, leaving the others without the bare minimum for even a week. People reposting videos with racist content against Chinese, covered by false political and economic arguments, spreading more hatred and in no way helping in the real solution of a world problem. other. How sad it is to see how much love this world is lacking. We elect unprepared leaders based on hate. We buy and consume much more than we need. We deny 1 Real to the homeless person, often using the false excuse that we don\’t want to contribute to his addiction, but we spend hundreds to poison ourselves at a meeting with friends watered down with alcohol. We don\’t even care about our own health, exposing ourselves to the imminent risk of a disease that has already killed thousands of people in such a short time, let alone worrying about our own parents! We isolate ourselves at home and, alienated, we keep the same habits, we eat without hunger because of anxiety and we suffer desperately because of fear, but we don\’t really stop to ask ourselves what is, in fact, missing or scaring us. It\’s sad. Very sad to realize that we have been killing ourselves and any life on the planet for a long time. I hope, whatever world we find after these inhospitable times have passed, that people have discovered that what we lack is love, in its more intimate, pure and simple way. So maybe we can start over, this time together. Believe me. I\’m still calm. exposing ourselves to the imminent risk of a disease that has already killed thousands of people in such a short time, let alone worry about our own parents! We isolate ourselves at home and, alienated, we keep the same habits, we eat without hunger because of anxiety and we suffer desperately because of fear, but we don\’t really stop to ask ourselves what is, in fact, missing or scaring us. It\’s sad. Very sad to realize that we have been killing ourselves and any life on the planet for a long time. I hope, whatever world we find after these inhospitable times have passed, that people have discovered that what we lack is love, in its more intimate, pure and simple way. So maybe we can start over, this time together. Believe me. I\’m still calm. exposing ourselves to the imminent risk of a disease that has already killed thousands of people in such a short time, let alone worry about our own parents! We isolate ourselves at home and, alienated, we keep the same habits, we eat without hunger because of anxiety and we suffer desperately because of fear, but we don\’t really stop to ask ourselves what is, in fact, missing or scaring us. It\’s sad. Very sad to realize that we have been killing ourselves and any life on the planet for a long time. I hope, whatever world we find after these inhospitable times have passed, that people have discovered that what we lack is love, in its more intimate, pure and simple way. So maybe we can start over, this time together. Believe me. I\’m still calm. What can we say about worrying about our own parents! We isolate ourselves at home and, alienated, we keep the same habits, we eat without hunger because of anxiety and we suffer desperately because of fear, but we don\’t really stop to ask ourselves what is, in fact, missing or scaring us. It\’s sad. Very sad to realize that we have been killing ourselves and any life on the planet for a long time. I hope, whatever world we find after these inhospitable times have passed, that people have discovered that what we lack is love, in its more intimate, pure and simple way. So maybe we can start over, this time together. Believe me. I\’m still calm. What can we say about worrying about our own parents! We isolate ourselves at home and, alienated, we keep the same habits, we eat without hunger because of anxiety and we suffer desperately because of fear, but we don\’t really stop to ask ourselves what is, in fact, missing or scaring us. It\’s sad. Very sad to realize that we have been killing ourselves and any life on the planet for a long time. I hope, whatever world we find after these inhospitable times have passed, that people have discovered that what we lack is love, in its more intimate, pure and simple way. So maybe we can start over, this time together. Believe me. I\’m still calm. but we don\’t really stop to ask ourselves what is really missing or scaring us. It\’s sad. Very sad to realize that we have been killing ourselves and any life on the planet for a long time. I hope, whatever world we find after these inhospitable times have passed, that people have discovered that what we lack is love, in its more intimate, pure and simple way. So maybe we can start over, this time together. Believe me. I\’m still calm. but we don\’t really stop to ask ourselves what is really missing or scaring us. It\’s sad. Very sad to realize that we have been killing ourselves and any life on the planet for a long time. I hope, whatever world we find after these inhospitable times have passed, that people have discovered that what we lack is love, in its more intimate, pure and simple way. So maybe we can start over, this time together. Believe me. I\’m still calm. pure and simple form. So maybe we can start over, this time together. Believe me. I\’m still calm. pure and simple form. So maybe we can start over, this time together. Believe me. I\’m still calm.