We are divided now as never before.

On one hand are those who are working very long hours, in the NHS, or stocking our food shops, or delivering shopping to our doors, and all the other essential services that are keeping us safe and well.

On the other are those who are staying at home, perhaps feeling trapped and frustrated at being unable to work, or stressed with all the family, even extended family, under the same roof 24/7 with nowhere to go.

Some in both groups will be united by their worries over friends and family who are poorly.

We salute NHS staff for their selfless efforts, putting themselves in danger trying to save the lives of those they have never met before, but all those at work deserve our thanks and respect for what they are doing to help us get through this crisis.

More than ever now it is so important to give a smile and thank you to the pharmacist dispensing your prescription, overworked checkout staff, and the delivery driver backing away from your door after leaving your parcel.

If you are in the stuck at home group, you may feel there is little you can do to help, but even those told to stay in for 12 weeks can make their own contributions to our national health.

We have heard how we all must take care of our mental health while isolated. Now is a good time to look out our Christmas card lists. All those friends and family, colleagues from years ago, who usually just get a hastily scribbled card once a year, when you are too busy to write more than a quick line. Now we could revive the ancient art of letter writing, or pick up the phone, and find out what is happening in their lives. All our lives will be enriched by sharing our thoughts with each other.

Of course, those working long, busy shifts won’t be able to respond for a while, but contacting someone stuck at home will really brighten their day, and yours.

If, like me, you are a member of a group whose meetings have been cancelled for the foreseeable future, try video conferencing through Zoom, Skype, WhatsApp or Facetime.

Just because you’ve never done it before doesn’t mean you can’t.

We’ve just held our first Zoom WI committee meeting. It was chaotic, with lots of teething problems, but enormous fun. It makes the world of difference to see your friends faces again, especially when you thought you couldn’t.

Video links are particularly good for grandparents to maintain contact with grandchildren. It’s very hard to keep a conversation going with a child on the phone for more than a minute or two, much easier when you can see each other. If you don’t know how, just try, and ask for help if you get stuck. There are plenty of good-hearted people willing to help at the end of the phone, or online chat box.

For the stuck at home, this pause in our lives is an opportunity to rethink our values and what is important to us. A sunny window to sit by, a park to walk to, a garden to work in, to hear the birdsong and see the buds bursting can really raise our spirits. The natural world around us can give us the strength to get through this crisis.

We can repay that debt by looking after our environment, making sure that when industry fires up again it does so in a sustainable way. We have the technology now to lead the lives we want without destroying the world we love. If we look after our world, it will look after us.