I used to tell a joke onstage at Giggles when for a short period of time I tried stand up comedy.

“People say that the weather in Seattle is depressing. But I always tell them to remember, that behind every dark cloud, there’s another dark cloud.”

It’s mid April in Vermont, and there’s fresh slushy snow on the ground, but it won’t last. Spring is now seriously overdue. The forecast calls for dreary wet and cold all week. I glance up at the 5 day forecast graphic on the local news and for a moment it’s depressing. This feeling is very familiar to anyone from Seattle. Rain every day for a week! Stuck inside.

Lisa and I tried flipping through news channels at dinner, but it was just as much a bummer. You have three choices, dull and sanitized, right wing hyperbole or left wing hyperbole. We are not loyal to anyone these days. Click.

I read a variety of newspapers, which is more time than most people can spend researching the world they live in. It’s enough. The spin cycle is now so fast, it feels a bit hysterical.

So where is the joy these days?

When compared to life at any time in human history, we all have so many more avenues to pursue happiness. There are almost infinite possibilities. But you wouldn’t know it if you were in an alien spaceship judging our species by it’s popular media.

Here are a few things I like to keep reminding myself.

The vast majority of us are walking around with a device that gives us access to almost all human knowledge. The smartphone didn’t exist 11 years ago. Now there’s one on just about every hip.

It doesn’t mean you can be anything you can be anything you want to be. But you can learn anything you want to learn. If you have the will and the drive, there’s nothing holding you back, but distractions. Don’t let them.

In this new age we can be transported live in real time to anywhere. Spend an hour FaceTiming. We did this with Keith and Andrew and the kids yesterday. At first it feels awkward. It’s not a phone call. It’s a video visit. And it’s an acquired taste. Many people don’t like it at first. But some of you know, if you invest the time for the people who are most important in your life, it begins to feel like you are really there.

We had a defunct well in our garden. Needed a new pump. I looked it up. The pump was $700, the install could go as high as 4 grand. Or not. Just ask YouTube how to install it. And marvel at the positive side of humanity that motivates good people to share their skills out of the kindness of their hearts. It helps if you’re friends with a brilliant handyman. Thank you David!

I may not be as handy with physical labor, but I’m learning new software skills at a rate I never imagined. Whatever I want to know is out there. Forums, manuals, tutorials. Most of it is free.

Remember when door to door salesmen used to ring your bell and try to sell your mom Encyclopedias?

I still forget sometimes. And weirder even, some one will ask me a question, and I will google it for them. Hey wait a minute. You could have done that.

The upside to our fast paced no time world is that if we can figure out how to wisely choose, the sky’s the limit.

Its exhilarating!