So am I, through all this I realize what a “glass half full” kind of person I really am. I rarely watch the national news but, when I do, I’m reminded of what comedian Ellen DeGeneres’ view is regarding network news, “They could save broadcast time by simply reporting that things are getting worse.”

Are things getting worse or do they love to talk about doom and gloom? Next time you watch the news, pay attention to how many adjectives are used: aggressive, impulsive, cynical, thoughtless and, their all-time favorite, explosive. My advice to you is turn off the television and find something productive to do.

This also seems to be a time for us to learn, and to trust. One of my first jobs out of high school with working as a carpenter for a home builder. On days when the weather would not let us work outside, the builder had a shop to pre-assemble different components for the home that I would work in. It was hard for the builder to find people that wanted to work in the shop. Why you might ask? Because you were there working by yourself for eight hours a day … alone. I was always struck by the fact that people don’t like being alone. I really enjoyed it; I couldn’t do it every day, but once or twice a week was great. Working in that shop taught me that I enjoy being alone but I hated being lonely.

I think that’s what’s driving people crazy through this time of shelter in place. We have so many distractions in our lives that when we are forced to be alone, we feel lonely. We have never practiced the art of being alone, alone to think, alone to plan or alone to pray.

Here’s a couple of things to think about when you find yourself alone. First, start with gratitude! Study after study shows that the happiest people are the most thankful people. Be thankful for everything, and I mean everything, you might start with being thankful for living in America, the air you breathe, clean water to drink and, of course, toilet paper! Don’t laugh, be thankful for everything.

Next, acknowledge your limitations. In other words, what do you have to work with? What are your talents and skills? Work to improve them, read a book, take an online course or learn something new. By the way, it’s not a course on Netflix! I think you get the picture.

We all have 24 hours in each day, it’s up to you as to how you’re going to use each hour. Are you going to use each hour positively or negatively? Are you going to waste or kill an hour or seven on the sofa watching Tiger King, Cheer or Ozark? They are not bad shows, but they can steel your time away if you do it every day. What I’m saying is find a balance between productive time, learning time and time for entertainment.

As with so many things we all deal with, I’m always reminded of what we should all start our day with, The Serenity Prayer… think about it:

O God, Grant Me the Serenity to

Accept the Things I Cannot Change,

The Courage to Change the Things I Can,

And the Wisdom to Know the Difference.