The power of LOVE is beyond words… Beyond race…Beyond religion. It melts the differences away like a flood of light in the darkness. It makes the soul surrender to the intent of the heart to truly give, without a notion of receiving anything but, the satisfaction of seeing another’ heart moved by the action of the gift. We are learning firsthand all about love through the pain and suffering we are all facing every day. The Covid-19 pandemic crisis is a great teacher. It has no boundaries and can affect anyone at any time. It knows no age, religion, financial pedigree, race, or gender. It can destroy entire families, and at the same time skip over entire families. What we are learning amid this torrential warzone is that no one goes unscathed. Every family has battle scars that are being dressed if they are lucky enough for a bandage. Others prepare for the worse, saying goodbye in a hospital room or over a computer screen. In every case, there is a common denominator, and that is understanding what pain feels like, looks like, and is like, up-close and personal, or at a distance from news reports from foreign countries stretched over a television screen. We watch nervously in horror at what could be knocking at our door! In the back of our minds, we hold tight to prayer to keep and protect ourselves and our loved ones from this pestilence. We come to appreciate that every day is precious, and the fragrance of life is a little sweeter when we narrowly escape a soul collision that was just missed, only by the grace of God. We look at our loved ones and friends with a deeper appreciation of who they are to us and what they mean to us. We delve into the souls of our loved ones more intensely because we are all fully aware that things could change like a flip of a switch.  Therefore, our day to day interactions with loved ones, and friends, become a more sacred exchange of energy. Many of us are more conscious and connected in our greetings and departing words that we casually throw in the air like, “See ya later!  Be cool! “or a silent wave and a smile. This warzone we are all forced to live in has prepped us to realize that anyone can become a causality. So, many of us will now take a beat and drink in a moment. These moments have become more than occupying common space when it is not a guarantee that we will see each other later. Love becomes more available to express when it is threatened. We are learning how to love more deeply by what is being threatened.  We are unconsciously seizing moments, freezing time, holding a sacred point in our memory just in case. This life we are currently faced with is like a bad dream that we are unable to awaken from. Covid-19 will run its course and die. Storms do not last forever but the aftermath lingers long and is etched into our psyche, our lives are turned inside out.  The simple things that we all took for granted, are now as precious as a cultured pearl.  We can look back 8 months ago at our lives and see how time has compressed our lifestyle into ridged bite-size moments of fun. What we thought was an ordinary day with nothing special to do, today we would do just about anything, just to enjoy such simple freedom without cost. Love needs to be expressed and not having the ability to stand within 6 feet of each other without a mask and gloves, drives in the point of lost intimacy which is our greatest loss – simple freedom like going shopping with a friend, grabbing lunch at an outdoor café, a quick Starbuck’s cappuccino or silly things like dancing in the street or sitting on a public bench in the park. When we look at what is necessary to go into a public setting, without jeopardizing our lives or others, it is likened to going into outer space without a spacesuit or getting on a rollercoaster without a seat belt! So, we carry in our souls, bittersweet moments and memories that hold emotions and are forever frozen in time. This is our new normal life! We must all learn to adjust if we want to live or not kill others in the process. Covid-19 is a grievous composition written with each day’s sorrows, permeating the atmosphere and playing the heartstrings of life, in a visceral melodic passion, that no one will ever forget it. Moments of love in crisis is a strict teacher because the heart is forced to endure beyond what we believe we are capable of enduring. Yet, in these moments we truly find what we are made of and what is important to us. The things we hold as valuable become sandcastles on the shore. When the tide comes in, the house crumbles as the water flushes the dream away. Covid-19 is the tide coming in that disrupts the sandcastles many have made, and now they have vanished in the sea. All that is left, is the memory of what was. It lingers on into eternity like the face of loved ones who vanish from time. That is why we are learning to linger a little longer, hold a little tighter, and love a little harder. Compassion is a balm of mercy and we are all learning its fragrance, as it lingers long throughout this Covid-19 pandemic.