Well, it’s official. The mayor of Philadelphia has essentially sent me to my room. As an introverted homebody, I’m actually looking forward to an even slower pace and the challenges of occupying myself without any outside influence. It’s a brilliant time to get creative in the kitchen since it’s clear that popping out for snack food can literally kill me. Strange times!

Many other people have had a less cheerful reaction to the shelter at home restriction. If you’re healthy and confined, I have some ideas to help ease the tension. Stress is incredibly damaging to the immune system, and minimizing it is probably the most important thing you can do for your health aside from social distancing and hand washing.

Given that I have some time on my very clean hands, I recognize this as a brilliant opportunity to devote more time to my blog. I keep saying I want to do that, but life interferes. With much of life on hold for the moment, I have no excuses. I’ve cancelled all my appointments except the long-distance Reiki healing sessions, and since I have no commute for those, I’m blessed with the gift of free time. So here we go.

Once you’ve done all the things you need to do for your own wellness, consider how you can help someone else. Is there one small step you can take to make someone’s life easier? Can you help a local business stay afloat? Can you reach out to someone who might need to hear a friendly voice?

The clients, students and friends I speak with who are actively engaged in being supportive to others seem to be faring much better than those who are obsessed with their own microcosms. Don’t get me wrong, first we need to attend to our own stuff, emotions included, but shifting the focus to someone who might be needing a hand can work wonders. It doesn’t need to be an expensive or heroic act either.

Today I reached out to the farmers I usually buy my produce from at the farmers market. I figure they have vegetables, I want vegetables, there must be a way to connect. I’d much rather spend my money with local merchants who must be struggling than support the richest man on earth by ordering online. I was delighted (perhaps overly so!) to hear that I can get my veggies at the end of the week and even more delighted to have shared a brief connection with the farmer.

It was a small act, but really the high point of my day. I suspect we have a lot of days ahead sheltering at home, and I’m eager to make the most of them. Lending a helping hand where I can is definitely going on my to-do list. I’d love to hear about ways others are being supportive. You never know what might inspire another person to take action.