The day after Christmas, after a bomb went off in downtown Nashville just twenty-five minutes from my house, I was thinking about what I would write for today. An emotionally exhausted phrase slipped through my mind, I don’t even have the words...
But I do have the words. Tornado. Pandemic. Virus. Death. Quarantine. Isolation. Social distancing. Masks. Vaccine. And now bomb. Yes, bomb on Christmas day.
And more words: racial injustice, violence, riots, political divide, impeachment, economic devastation, contested election. Whew, it’s been a year!
I refuse to say it was a bad year, though. Instead, I acknowledge that it’s been a transformative year, a clarifying year. I also have to admit I’ve seen answered prayers in 2020, so there's been gifts too.
I can think of other years that held devastation and also, incredible blessings. I don’t wish any year away, because I don’t want to give up the lessons and the gifts that came with it.
On social media and in conversations, I keep seeing and hearing people express sarcasm and disgust for 2020, and the sincere longing for it to be over. It feels like it’s tinged with a belief that once the clock hits midnight, we can say goodbye and good riddance to 2020, and then everything will be better somehow.
‘Magical thinking’ is a phrase I’ve heard on my personal development journey many times. It means we allow ourselves to believe in delusions and fantasy in order to temporarily feel better during challenging situations.
I don’t want to burst anyone’s bubble, but a new year is not going to immediately cure what ails us. Our country is in more turmoil than many of us have ever seen, at least at an age where we can remember.
When December 31 goes by and January 1 comes around, 24 hours will have passed. That’s it. We will still face the same opportunities for growth that we ended 2020 with.
As 2021 approaches, we must remember that all we have is today. If we take any lesson from the pandemic of 2020, the staggering loss of lives and everything else that’s happened this year, let’s grasp the ability to realize this moment is all we have.
We learn from the past, we plan for the future, but we must live in the present.
It is futile to spend time wishing things were some other way or to kid ourselves that our happiness is just on the other side of something—a new year, a new job, a move, a new relationship, etc. That's the opposite of being present and accepting things the way they are.
We can't simultaneously find joy in the present while investing a lot of energy in wishing things were different. We have to choose where to put our focus.
One of the biggest life lessons I’ve learned is that there’s always a new lesson to be had. Whatever life is giving me now is here to better me, strengthen me, prepare me or bless me. Gratitude for what is good helps transform everything else.
I have a secret. I’ve seen the future and 2021 is going to have a lot of joy. It’s also going to have pain. We’re going to experience abundance and also, loss. There will be struggle and there will be triumph. And plenty of change. It’s never always going to be bad, and it’s never always going to be good.
In 2021, there will always be something good to be thankful for and when times are hard, there will be gifts in the pain. There will be gifts because of the pain. But if we let the pain blind us, we’ll miss everything else.
As we usher in a new year, let’s try to remember it’s also just another day. And that all we really have is the day we’re in.
Set goals, dream dreams, plan plans. And then live, today, as best you can. Be kind. Love well. Say thanks. And repeat.
Happy New Day! May you have another, and another, and another... May every day find you, finding the gifts. God bless.
