Just a thought… Hope. It’s like a drop of honey, a field of tulips blooming in the springtime. It’s a fresh rain, a whispered promise, a cloudless sky, the perfect punctuation mark at the end of a sentence. And it’s the only thing in the world keeping me afloat. [Tahereh Mafi]

Did you happen to catch the wonderful performance by Andrea Bocelli yesterday in an empty Il Duomo in Milan? (Spoiler alert: he finishes by going outside and singing “Amazing Grace.”)

I linked to it on my Facebook page if you’re looking for half an hour of inspiration, chills and just the most beautiful Easter gift. What a wonderful way to start our morning – that is, after our Facetime with a certain little boy and his family in Ottawa.

I almost wish I’d included this shorter Canadian video in yesterday’s renewal-themed Easter Sunday journal, but here we are. It’s Monday, and even though so many of us are not in the regular 9-5 (or in my case, the old 5-9) routine, we can all use a little boost.

This was sent to me by Elizabeth and it took me a few days to open it; I’ve found myself getting more emails than usual, as people just like me look for ways to connect outside the four walls of the place where they are self-isolating. (Which just serves to remind me of how lucky I am that you come here to share a few minutes with me.)

This video, according to cbc.ca, is from Voices Rock Medicine. It’s a choir made up of women physicians from the Greater Toronto Area who connected virtually to perform a goosebump-inducing version of the Rankin Family’s “We Rise Again.”

I think of these women, their families, the risks they take every day and the way they’re running into fires from which so many of us are fortunate enough to be able to shelter. The strength and the gifts that these women share with us here and every day are a reminder of the reasons we have to do as we’re asked and stay home, stay safe.

They describe it as a message of “gratitude and positivity during these challenging times.” Enjoy this. I know I did more than once, the second time with tears. Thank you ONE and ALL.