Practice Physical (Not Social) Distancing

Since social distancing started I’ve noticed people have started avoiding eye contact too. Maybe I’m just noticing it in myself but, I think some of us may tend this way. It seems automatic to look down if I can’t shake someone’s hand.

We need to protect ourselves and each other right now through physical distancing, not social distancing. If anything, we need our social network to be tighter and more connected than ever before, even with those we don’t know. 

Not physically connecting through a handshake or hug can trigger a dangerous emotion: fear. If we’re not careful to maintain social, not physical, contact, we may lose touch with something truly important: love. 

Remember, that, although it is normal to fear the virus, we don’t need to fear each other. Make eye contact, say hello, ask how people are doing. We don’t have to stop being civil and polite just because we can’t shake hands. 

This is a hard kind of love. This is love that preserves life while maintaining a connection to each other. This is a deep, powerful love that moves us to sacrifice the comfort of a warm embrace for the hope of spending decades more with each other. 

Call everyone you know.

Check on your neighbors.

Say howdy to people you don’t know.

Plan on hugging everyone in the future.