Let's Not Be . . . Too Hard On This Year of 2020
Today I am grateful for the continued sunshine and blue skies recently. They are helpful as we, in this Northern Hemisphere, are in our shortest days of daylight.
It's a dark end to a dark year. It's true, 2020 has been a real doozy of disappointment, loss, hardship. It's been loaded with fear, anxiety, uncertainty, unrest.
I've been writing this week about not being too hard on ourselves or one another. And while we're at it, let's not be too hard on this year either. It didn't ask to be the year of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, or a very divisive campaign season in the U.S.
A couple of the toughest emotional experiences I have had this year are:
-The upheaval of my son Sam's final weeks of high school and the loss of all things most exciting and earned by these young people surrounding one of the biggest, if not the biggest, event in their young lives. He had no idea when he walked out for spring break that he would never again step foot in that building as a student.
-Hearing of my sister Aileen's cancer diagnosis and not being able to go spend time with her. It's what we do, my sisters and I. We find a way to get to one another when cancer has gotten to another one of us.
So, yeah, 2020 has sucked in ways. Big ways! It's okay to let the grief and fear wash over us when it surfaces. It's actually quite healthy. It's also quite healthy to appreciate the beautiful things that came out. More fully tuning in to the changing seasons. New traditions starting. More family meals shared together. The acknowledgement of our own resilience.
Let's not be too hard on 2020. Let's list some of the things that came out of the darkness. Some of the things that transformed us in unexpected ways for the better.
And sometimes all we can do is laugh. One of the dark but good things to come out of this year is humor.
Here are a couple chuckles to finish with. The year 2020 has asked much of us, including "lighten up!"
Hi Lisa,
ReplyDeleteYes, 2020 has sucked big time. There have been moments of good, too, of course. Some years are just more lopsided. 2020 sure has been heavy on the bad. Humor always provides a bit of light. Well, almost always anyway. I love the two gems you shared. Definitely gave me a chuckle. Especially that first one! lol
I hope your sister is doing alright.
Enjoy your holidays, Lisa.
Keep writing.
Thanks Nancy! Laughter gets the oxygen flowing and we need that. My sister Aileen is doing well and feeling good overall as she continues “chemo lite” every two months. Happy Holidays!
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