We are all in this together... We can’t go out.

And if we do only one of us can go, and then only to shop for essentials.

We can’t call in for a coffee and a tapa, or go round to see our friends. The diversions with which we filled our days are now no longer. We are stuck inside our houses, like it or not.

We’ve arrived at a junction along our Road of Life. We have a choice: Doom and gloom. Isolation and boredom.

Or you could … Get on with all those jobs that you were going to do, but haven’t.

Go through the house and garden as if you have just moved in, and enjoy the opportunity of seeing your surroundings in a fresh light. Move that picture, re-position the furniture, swap the ornaments around, render a whole multitude of spiders homeless. Relish the feeling of satisfaction from your labours – look around and congratulate yourself before you sit down to wonder what the heck to do with the assorted objects that you have unearthed; objects that you didn’t know you had or forgotten about, and now that you’ve found them, wonder why you had them in the first place.

And while you are on a roll, decide to Do Something. Something you’ve always had an inclination to try your hand at, but have never got round to actually doing. Here the world is your oyster, through the medium of the World Wide Web. Study for a degree in nuclear physics? Learn Medieval English? Take up potholing – no, maybe not potholing!

Perhaps instead try out new recipes, or variations of recipes, using only the things you’ve got in your cupboards. Do all the crosswords and puzzles, not just the easy ones! And of course there is always the trusty jigsaw. And don’t forget Skype, Whatsapp, Facebook and any others that you may fancy.

Since I haven’t met a fellow human face-to-face since last week’s Mercadona outing, I have spoken to more people via the above than in a normal week! Whether you decide to be an opti or a pessi mist there is the radio or the telly, and an unceasing stream of Youtube to distract you from the here and now. It really is up to you. Sit and watch the clock go round, or Get On With whatever you’ve decided to get on with!

A word of warning; If you decide the latter, plan your day, otherwise it will run away with you! You will find that you are deeply immersed in 4 down, 6 across only to look up and see that it is 5 o’clock, and you’ve forgotten to take supper out of the deep freeze!

It’s up to you what you make of it. Personally I am finding it an opportunity for all of us to make new friendships, learn new things, and above all, to draw together in our time of trial.

My wish for the future? That the drawing together that many of us have experienced, the reassessment of values, the appreciation of Life in all its many forms, will stay with us once we are allowed out again. You get out of Life what you put in.

And come on! We can communicate with each other, we can show friendship and fellowship to others, we can fill our days meaningfully. Having to plan our shopping and wear a mask and gloves is not the end of the world, is it? Make a resolution for today to do something that you enjoy, and speak to someone who would like to hear from you.

You will find that what you have put into Life will come back to you better and stronger. Carpe Diem – Seize the day!

Remember Monsters Inc? The monsters harvest the screams of frightened children to provide a life force for them, until the big blue monster, Sully, discovers that the most powerful force in the world is laughter! (James P ‘Sully’ Sullivan)