The past few weeks have been surreal.....stores, businesses, even countries shutting down. Marshal law and total shut downs. Empty streets, social distancing, self isolation. Who would have ever imagined this could possibly happen? For the first few weeks, I watched what was happening as if I was watching a movie. I was out of country, in a place with elephants, monkeys and camels everywhere, and beautiful festivals - a place that is full of life and vibrancy in each and every moment. No one was sick, and the only sign that something was amiss was that I was the only foreigner in hotels; in fact sometimes I was the only guest. I got daily updates from friends and family at home, but somehow it was just so far away. Suddenly things got very real, very quickly. Hotels closed and flights were cancelled, and cities were scheduled to go into lockdown. Thanks to my wonderful Indian friends, I was able to get back to Delhi and catch one of the last flights out of the country. As I sit in mandatory isolation in my home, I look back on the events of the last few weeks and it still doesn't seem completely real. I watch people from my window viewpoint walk their dogs and talk to their partners. Conversations. Real conversations. They are vital to human health. This crisis has shown how very important they are. None of us exists independently from others and we are learning that what we do affects everyone else. We are interdependent - interdependent with each other, and with the world we inhabit. We breathe oxygen produced by plants, and eat food grown from the earth that is distributed to stores by the help of many hands. The most precious gifts we have that we can share with our fellow beings are the gift of compassion and conversation. Go have a great conversation with your loved ones - in person, or via video. Tell them how precious they are, and how happy you are to have them in your life. A real conversation....do it.