by Joyce Bartlett

May you find happiness in the small spaces. Joy in the staying put. No highways. No office buildings. No crowded subways.

May you find peace in your own kitchen. May your four walls feel like a sanctuary. A haven from a noisy world.

May you take pleasure in a bad pun, or a bowl of popcorn. Laughing with the people close to you. Patting the grateful dog. The clever cat.

May you discover the delight of writing letters on paper. In baking cookies. In the birds visiting your early spring garden.

May you find yourself fully in the present moment. Where all of life is happening right now. And worries about the future don't exist.

May you invent ways to help people who need you. Because times like this were made to remind us that we are all the same.

Even as you wrap yourself in a blanket of solitude, may you discover the secrets of the universe from your spot on the couch.

And...may you be so well-loved that others will rejoice when you are finally able to run into their arms again.