During this freeze-frame on life as we know it, while we shelter in place and social distance, the pandemic calls us to resist connection and keep space between us. To go against our instinct of doing life together for the good and well-being of others. It feels weird and unnatural. Not to mention downright heart shattering for those who can't even do death together with their loved ones. Those scenarios wreck my insides.

But, is it possible we've been social distancing for quite some time under the guise of busyness? Have our private, overscheduled, face in our phones, texting instead of calling lives been creating too much space between us already? Maybe we were already going against our instinct of doing life together and just couldn't see the depth of our disconnect because of the daily blur.

God knows this global virus is the great equalizer in exposing how badly we need each other. We are learning the hard way how much it hurts to live in forced separation. How soul bending it is to try and love and comfort from a distance.

The question is, what will life look like when this is over? How many paradigm shifts await us on the other side, if any?

Life, as we know it, has come to a full stop. "Pause, please," the Universe seems to be saying, and we don't have much room for backtalk in the matter. But since we are stuck in our homes, we have plenty of time to ponder. Plenty of daylight to reflect on what life could look like going forward.

Who will we be as an individual? As a neighbor? As a friend? As a family unit? As a community? As a company? As an organization? As an athlete? As a team? As a country? As a nation? As a world? I don't think there is a soul on earth who doesn't believe there is room for improvement in ourselves and how we relate to others. Let alone how systems are structured, organizations are run, and nations treat nations, just to name a few.

But we each have the power to choose how we live and interact. What we want to prioritize. And since we are all connected, our choices affect the collective. Always have, always will. We see proof of this reality everywhere we look right now.

I pray for all of us to be intentional and mindful of the choices we make going forward. I pray we choose more togetherness. More stillness. More gratitude. More simplicity. More silence. More health. More purposefulness. More mindfulness. More generosity. More compassion. More inclusion. More not needing to be right. More intentionality. More letting go. More Grace. More embracing what we have. More L O V E.

For all of these 'mores' to become a reality, we have to give up something to get there. What our 'lessness' needs to look like is something we must examine for ourselves.

We are on the brink of a global Copernicus Moment. With one small shift of the mind, one change of perspective about the sun in relation to the earth, Copernicus changed the human conception of the Universe. Just imagine what a shift in thinking and a renewed perspective on what is most important in life could mean for humanity going forward.

For a paradigm shift to happen, moving from our heads into our hearts is an essential first step. That's where the miracle lies. That's where we are truly connected to one another. That's where new life begins.

Godspeed, humanity.