Good-bye 2020!
Everyone happily wants to show 2020 the door.
It’s been more than a difficult year.
It was the year a pandemic took over the world. When it started, I foolishly believed it would be gone by now. All would be normal by the fall, kids back in school, people going out and socializing in normalcy, more people healthy and alive than expected. I think many of us did not want to imagine that the illness and death, the social isolation, and economic impact to people and businesses would continue on into the winter.
“How can such a thing happen in my lifetime?” I asked that question every day for a long time. It seemed surreal, apocalyptic, a made-for-TV-movie. Some people I spoke to, were not so surprised by the pandemic. They thought it was only a matter of time – when, not if.
I was shocked, depressed, and anxious as things grew worse day-by-day. And I’m a pretty balanced person, normally. I imagine that others probably felt worse than I did. This shook our collective hope, destabilized our visions for the future. Many thought, this is it, the end of the world. I know I did.
Eventually, I regained my balance, trying to live each day, well…in the moment. Finding gratitude in daily living, appreciating the simpler things in life.
Yes, I miss the company of friends and family, the energy of strangers in daily life. Sitting in a café while I write a blog about human interactions. Seeing people’s faces when we interact, the pleasure of sitting in a restaurant eating a meal without fear. Feeling the freedom.
But, really, those are trivial things in many ways, as I have learned. They are good and maybe even necessary, but not as necessary as human life. Or money to pay the bills. Or ridding our world of all forms of injustice. Or simply a roof over your head.
So, as I bid good-bye to 2020, I will find its beauty, because there is always good in the bad.
I am grateful for 2020:
- For the lives that have been saved
- For special moments with family and friends, either digitally or safely in person
- For writing and publishing my book
- For finally releasing things that I had carried for too long
- For accepting those things that I didn’t want to face
- For welcoming new energies and people into my life, despite the social isolation
- For amazingly beautiful sunrises and sunsets and peaceful hikes in nature
- For showing me that I already have absolutely everything I need
- For teaching me to speak my truth and be fearless
- For hopefully showing the world that we need to be united and cooperate more often
2020, thank you and good-bye.
2021, I welcome you with hope, passion, and love.
Happy New Year to everyone!