Humans, like most beings, thrive when we share intimacy. Yet I’m writing this amidst a pandemic, a time to practice social distancing in order to flatten the curve (please!) and stop the spread of this new virus. Still, we can connect with one another.
Here are some tips for connection. 
Make sure you connect with Nature. Even if you live in a dense city, spend time with a street tree. Bring it some water each day, place your palms or your back against its trunk and offer thanks. Breathe with the tree. Talk with the tree–out loud if you dare. Being in a forest, or near a tree as a proxy for a forest, is physically healing for us humans. (Look up shinrin-yoku or forest bathing.)
Can’t stand close to or touch another human? Like the mycorrhizal network, the fungi under ground, connect through a tree or a plant or the soil. Keep at least a six foot physical distance, touch the tree or garden plants and play with the notion that your energy touches one another. (hint: it does)
We are all connected via energy with one another and all living beings. Physically, we breathe the same air, we are composed of the same water. Pretend you can feel the energy that connects us all. (And soon you will feel it.) Some call universal energy chi or ki. Pretend you feel the flow of energy in your body, pretend you feel your aura. Soon you will.
With mutual consent, stand near (but not too near) another and pretend you feel the energy that connects you, pretend your auras are touching. Soon you will feel this energy.
Use your voice to connect with neighbors. In Italy, people sang out their windows with one another. Make a singing date with your neighbors. Or just do it–sing or read a poem–and trust that others will join in.
Use technology (email, phone, videoconferencing) to stay connected with friends and family. Search for livestreamed or archived screenings and viewings. Libraries, museums, publishers, performance venues, authors, colleges, schools and other organizations are ramping up online content.
Though a solitary activity, read a book. And then talk about it with others online and by phone.
Finally, stay connected with yourself. This is a stressful time. Breathe. Ground (picture your connection with the Earth). Notice the feelings running through you–they are all okay. Just breathe. Picture your feelings moving through you without getting stuck, they are just energy. Sighing, laughing, singing, stomping your feet, shaking your body are all wonderful ways to keep that energy moving.
I wish you and your loved ones vibrant good health.