Let’s face it, patience is just not much of a practiced virtue anymore. Proof of that is that so many seem to think that the current lockdown is agonizing. But it is only in its fourth month. Four months is nothing in comparison to most of our lifetimes. It is just a blip on our radar screen. Just look at Anne Frank, who was hidden in a very small dark room for over two years! How can you compare that to not be able to go to bars, restaurants, and party with your friends for a few months? Come on, let’s keep things in perspective!

One of the wisest things you can carry with us through life is a sense of perspective. Yeah, the pandemic has put a crimp on our socializing scene and eating out is rare but those should be considered disposable items anyway. Having them makes life a little more pleasant but not having them is really not much of a burden. Maybe instead of whining in self-pity we should use this time to get to know ourselves better? Thoreau spent 2 years at Walden pond by himself and wrote 18 essays explaining how it changed his life forever. Why not take advantage of this period as Thoreau did?

If you could get to know who you are you might just enjoy your own company more and even come to cherish the times in the future to be with yourself. I know for some of you, getting to know yourself, is probably a pretty scary thing. You just might not like who you are. But, believe me, you would be a better person when you put your life in perspective.

Today, almost everyone seems to gauge their life by how many “friends” they have online. We spend too much time trying to harvest that rather arid plane.

You should think of these times as an excellent opportunity to learn to live with yourself instead of depending on others for validation.

I don’t know where you are in the road of your life but I spent many years trying to discover who I was. I can’t say that the journey is complete but its well down the road now. It is not until you put your life in perspective that you have any hope of fulfilling your dreams.

I will admit as I close this post, that I am kind of enjoying this isolation. Since I have so much difficulty figuring out social cues and such, my time now is much more peaceful. When I do go out, which is usually only once a week, coping with everyone wearing a mask definitely puts a crimp in my lip-reading but that is about it. I keep it in perspective. I have come to enjoy myself more recently than I have in years. And, that is a good thing… for me and could be for you too. 👍