Are you spending all of your time online reading and sharing overtly biased clickbait, misinformation, conspiracy theories, and hateful memes? Here are a few suggestions of other things you can do to pass the time more productively;
CREATE SOMETHING: paint or draw a picture, photograph nature, learn to play or even write a new song, make something crafty – put something beautiful in the world that wasn’t there before.
PROMOTE SOMETHING YOU LOVE: Have you recently read a book that inspired you or helped you escape into another world altogether? Have you listened to a new album or song that you can’t get enough of? Have you watched a movie or series that was more fun or entertaining than you were expecting? Share that kind of information with your friends and followers.
SAY “HI”: Send a letter, or a text message, or an email to someone that you haven’t talked to in a long time – out of the blue – just to let them know you’re thinking about them. It might make someone’s day.
BE HAPPY: I was going to say “smile” but since everyone is wearing a face covering (or at least should be), we have to improvise. So, laugh out loud, wave, smile with your eyes, just be nice – be friendly. These times are hard enough without everyone walking around grumbling and complaining all the time. Make a conscious effort to be happy.
LOOK AROUND: Take the time to look up from your phone and find the beauty in the world. Whether it’s in nature, or a child’s smiling face, or in architectural details of a building – there’s great stuff all around us if we just open our eyes and look!
GIVE STUFF AWAY: Clean out your closets and instead of throwing it out, donate the decent stuff to a charity. Get some groceries for your local food pantry. Throw one of those apples sitting on your kitchen counter that’s getting a little too ripe into your back yard for the critters to eat.
GIVE COMPLIMENTS: Choose someone different every day and pay them a compliment – whether it’s someone you see all the time or a complete stranger – find something nice to say and say it! (Without being degrading or sexist, obviously.)
COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS: Cliché I know, but seriously. You have so much to be thankful for, take some time out of your day to think about those things – to cherish those things.
There are so many more productive things that we could be doing right now with our time than the things that we have been doing. Make an effort – change your attitude – and together we can get through this and make the world a better place when we eventually get to the other side.