Last year December, we had just heard of some kind of virus in China, and by the end of July now, we are all stuck inside our homes and hoping and praying we don’t get COVID-19 while wearing masks and social distancing.

Life has seen a complete 360 degrees flip and that brings in a lot of insecurities with personal and social issues. Along with changing our lifestyle, COVID-19 has penetrated into our dreams and thought processes.

So, what are our real choices here? What’s going to happen if we decide to not follow the CDC guidelines? How can we minimize the spread of this virus and not just keep ourselves safe but also our community?

My choice is for my family. I choose to stay home and continue to maintain my social distancing. But what are the benefits of consciously deciding to stay at home?

1. Community service: With major activities, including my kid’s have slowed down, I have been able to leverage social media to help people by sharing my knowledge on yogic practices, meditation, stress management, and mindfulness. And also with my expertise as a trauma/grief relief and relationship coach, I was able to support others to stay calm, less anxious, focus more on positivity and have better relationships ( with themselves and others around them) during these unprecedented times.
   
   
2. Family time: I am getting more family time this way. We are all able to have meals together, laugh together, and do fun stuff like gardening, playing in the backyard, going for strolls.
   
   
3. Community safety: Within our realms of responsibilities, community safety also is a big concern. How do we look beyond our personal needs and think about serving and keeping the community safe is also a big issue. Without our empathy towards others, this pandemic will not be overcome. We cannot depend on governments to give us directives all the time but we should also make it our priority to work towards vanquishing our common enemy. This involves people deciding to isolate themselves as well as those who are forced to go to work. The CDC guidelines need to be followed at their utmost ability to keep this virus in check.
   
   
4. Improving knowledge: I personally had so many books on ancient scriptures, spirituality, and much more to read in my to-do list and I am able to catch up with all of those. Hence, not just am I enjoying reading books but also increasing my knowledge.
   
   
5. Accelerated my work: Because of the forced slowing down of our lives, my focus has changed to think and be more creative in boosting my business. As a result of that, I now have my own podcast and also host a radio show to reach out to people and serve them in a more effective way while maintaining social distancing. The message I am sharing with everyone is to show Love, Peace and Compassion not just among friends and family by extending it to people beyond your reach.

That being said, I definitely miss meeting my friends in person. But if that is creating more damage to the community and by staying at home, if I am able to get the best out of my time and energy, I would prefer to stay home and serve mankind. Of course, by using technology to be in touch with friends on face times.