When Spock dies at the end of The Wrath of Khan, he dies in isolation. Oh, his friends can see him, speak with him, and connect with him, but the radiation proof glass prevents any physical connection. This, for me, is one of the worst things about this current crisis. Over the last two years, the most important thing for getting me through my own problems has been human contact. Not telephones, or emails, or web seminars.

Sitting in a room, with a cup of tea. Sharing a meal. Crying into someone’s shoulder. Hugging. And all these modern technological connections are like a cardboard cigarette to a nicotine addict to replace that. I never want to die like Spock, separated from the world by a cell of glass.

So I keep my distance. I keep working, because I need the money to survive, I do everything in my power to use that to prevent others from feeling like I know I will. Because I know other people do feel the relief of a phone call, of a video or a livestream.

If, at the end, it’s just me working in an office alone, patching a handful of souls together in a manner they wouldn’t have managed otherwise, then there’s a success.

Please remember, when you’re watching people reach out and hug, and you’re thinking they should be standing at either ends of the room, how much that hug might be needed. Full isolation can and will take lives. So if that hug can save a life, it is worth it. You never know the story behind people’s lives.

I’m not advocating a free-for-all of personal contact. But be aware of those nearest and dearest, and be aware how painful that physical separation can be. Because at the end of it all, we don’t want to be looking back and wondering if, when we didn’t physically reach out, another person lost their own personal battle with themselves.