What if we did not make 2020 all about the pandemic?
I would always feel bad in any random year when people name a year fully “terrible” with a single stroke of a brush when something bad happens, even very early in the year, like February. All of a sudden the whole year becomes a flaw and people start to wait for next year to arrive. Wow, you have another 10 months ahead of you before the year ends and you already marked this a very bad one. That always surprises me.
First of all, we made up the calendar year and we cannot throw a whole year as waste when it is a good chunk of our lives. We don’t even know how much time we are left with on this planet and we already decided the rest of the year will be bad too. Why?
I think personally I would be even cautious to say that, not knowing what the next year will bring. Or thinking may be the best is yet to come in the coming weeks or even during the last week of the year. Why would I give up the whole year with one bad experience?
Losing a loved one, battling with a terminal disease, being in a horrible accident, taking care of a very sick person you love can of course bring all of us down. But some people even with these going on, find something positive about the year. The rest of us certainly can, if we choose to do so.
So 2020 has been a difficult year for so many even for those who are not affected financially or health wise. No denying that. Worst pandemic in a century killing close to 2 Million people. We all feel the grief. I am a big believer that we need to recognize and honor our sadness, anger, disappointment instead of ignoring them.
Yet there is a way to make this year count in our lives besides the pandemic. Just decide you will find something positive, make sure you go back to January and think of all the good things that happened to you since then. They do not need to make the headlines. If you take photos like I do, go through them and see the moments that you captured. Remember and even list all the wonderful things that happened.
What if we do not remember this as the worst year and be grateful for what this pandemic is trying to teach us too.
Some that come to mind are:
We are more connected globally than we ever realize
The wellness of someone in the other part of the world can impact us too; we have to care about everyone, not only the ones in our circles, in our town or in our country
We spent more time at home and noticed what is right and wrong about our relationships
We realized we can work from home and be productive
We always say health comes first but now we acknowledged it even more
We paid attention to what happens to others more than ever like #blacklivesmatter movement because we were not going crazy being busy every second of the day
All the things we took for granted like going out for dinner, hoping on a plane to see our loved ones, just hugging a friend going through a difficult time, having big gatherings around a table are so special now
So in the midst of it all, can you reflect back on 2020 and remember what you can be grateful for? If you stayed healthy, had a roof over your head and could put food on the table, do you see it is a blessing?
What if we never judged a year even with a big global pandemic going on to be the worst? I hope this is the worst in our lifetime but do we really know? Can we just find something positive and move on the new year with hopes and dreams?
What if we never make a year “horrible” until the very last day? May be the last day of the year will be all worth it with wonderful news. You never know.
I wish you the best in the last few days of 2020 and in 2021. Human connection and health are the most important, so hope you get to be together with everyone you missed and find them healthy soon. My heart goes out to everyone who truly had a very difficult year and lost jobs, savings, homes, or most importantly loved ones.
Happy New Year!
