Marisol Rueda Flores, Playa del Carmen, Mexico:

When this pandemic started I never thought it was going to hit my beloved Mexico. But here I am, staying at home for my safety and my community’s safety. At the beginning I thought it was not going to change my life too much, since I usually work from home, but I forgot this year was our training and monitoring season to jump into the reef and collect scientific data to evaluate the health of our Mesoamerican Reef. All of that has been postponed till… who knows when…

I’m keeping a daily routine, so I don’t drive myself crazy, and I’m actually enjoying my days at home, but what I’m definitely missing is my ocean, my corals, my fishes and the shiny days out there working in the field and inspiring others to preserve our ecosystems. Besides that, I miss traveling, since it was something I used to do every 2 or 3 weeks either for job purposes or for pleasure, short distances within my country or to other far away destinations. I certainly miss the hugs as most of the people, but when I can have videocalls with my family and friends that pain dissolves and is transformed into smiles and laughter. I focus myself on meditating during the morning, working as usual from my desk, exercising at the evening and enjoying the leftover time for myself either reading, painting, cooking or simply relaxing in the couch and remembering the feeling of being underwater where everything there is in balance and in peace, two things we need to keep in our hearts to survive this quarantine.

I’m thankful this not only brings time for going deep into my personal ocean, but also it gives a break to the planet. I just wish when we come back, we don’t come back with the “business as usual”. I hope this helps us think on our habits, to set priorities in our lives, and to value what really matters within our souls. Wishing the best for our physical and psychological health but also for this wave of transformation we are all diving into…