2020 has been a truly ugly year and I’ll be glad when it’s over. But it’s important to recognize the silver linings we found because of 2020 and I’m hoping everyone will stop to think about those things and not drop everything and return to the old normal but give careful consideration to what’s really important.
This is a year to ask Why is this happening to me? What is this teaching me? It’s time to look at how you were living your life pre-2020 and what changes you made in 2020 that actually made your life better. Here are some things I can think of:
- Reconnecting with the essential things in life
- Strengthening relationships
- Learning new hobbies
- Spending more time in nature
- Gaining the hours spent commuting to work, spent with people who truly matter
- Dropping the hectic lifestyle
- Taking time for deep reflection
- Working from home
- Resilience you didn’t know you had
- Being there for your kids
- Spreading Kindness, volunteering to help the less fortunate
- Adopting shelter animals – scientifically proven to increase your well-being
- Spontaneous (outdoor) visits from friends
- More reading and writing for pleasure
- Recognizing who is truly important to you
- Finding a good work/life balance
- Greater appreciation for teachers, nurses, and the workers who keep our country going
- New family traditions – game nights, relaxing morning coffee out on the deck, family walks, etc
- Better hygiene habits = getting sick less often
- Time = a huge silver lining
There may only be one or two of these that apply to you or maybe you have your own list of things that changed for the better when you were forced to slow down, social distance, or revise your priorities.
For many of us, our pre-COVID-19 lives were spent rushing from one activity to the next, and connecting with friends and family through Facebook, texting, and social media rather than being 100% present with the people closest to us.
We’ve all learned how fragile life is and how quickly it can fall apart. It’s time to take those lessons and prioritize what’s important in life. It’s time to truly be present, to relax and enjoy the moment instead of obsessing about the things you still have on your to-do-list.
Intention plus our full attention turns any activity that we deem worthy into a life-enhancing, sacred act. We need to find a way to honor what each of us has learned as well as what we would like to carry forward into 2021. – Fabiana Fondevila
Let’s make 2020 the year that we learned to appreciate everything we have.
Wishing you a joyful Christmas, Hanukkah, Bodhi, Solstice, and Kwanzaa. Whatever you celebrate, I wish you peace and kindness.
Is there someone who inspires you with their kindness? Nominate them for the Matt Kurtz Kindness Award of $250.
Do you have an act-of-kindness project you want to do but need help funding it? Submit your idea for the Matt Kurtz Kindness Grant of $250 and let us help you spread kindness.
