Celebrating?
I chose the title of this post very carefully. For many of us, 2020 has been a year of hardship and difficulty the likes of which few of us have ever experienced. To borrow a phrase from Queen Elizabeth II, an “annus horribilis” that many of us would like to put in the rearview mirror. Celebrating might seem impossible.
I propose an alternative view; I intend to look back on this year, perhaps not with fondness, but with a recognition that it wasn’t only horrible.
Silver Linings
It has been truly astonishing to see how one situation after another has come up over the last twelve months that have challenged us to examine our assumptions. Society, business, economics, and medicine. Recreation, socialization, and community. The events of 2020 have left no one untouched in some way, and seemingly no element of our modern world unquestioned, unshaken.
“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”
Viktor Frankl
Through all of the upheaval, though, I’ve witnessed an astonishing thing; the willingness of people to change themselves. We’ve changed, almost overnight, the way that we live, work, and play. Not necessarily for the better in every case, and hopefully those changes are ultimately temporary. But the negative changes have served to highlight the truly important things in life. Even in the darkest moments of the last year, we have had the opportunity put before us to take a close look at the aspects of our lives that we take for granted. That opportunity is more valuable than any silver, and worth celebrating.
The choice belongs to each of us; to find the ways and courage to change ourselves in the face of situations beyond our control, to find the strength in our hearts to face a broken world every day, and try to make it better in whatever small ways we can.
We’ve all come a long way.
The world has hit us all hard this year. Some of us have been lucky, our lives inconvenienced but little worse for wear. Some of us have been sucker punched, and are reeling in ways that the rest of us struggle to empathize with. Alongside the pain and hardship, though, if you’re reading this, you are still here, through it all. And, to quote Gandalf, “that is an encouraging thought.”
One of my very favorite stories is “So You Want to be a Wizard,” by Diane Duane. In her Young Wizards series, the protagonists fight on the side of the light against the forces of darkness, death, and entropy. If you like your sorcery with a side of science, this is your series. The point is, there is a special magic in getting up in the morning and siding with hope, growth, life, and love.
Take Heart, and Forge Ahead
I want to end this last post of 2020 with some encouragement, in the most literal sense of the word. I hope that the new year brings you courage. Courage to look beyond the pain and troubles of the last year, and the uncertainty of the future. Courage to create, and courage to heal, and courage to look ahead. I hope that you find the courage to do what you do best.
In the meantime, raise a glass of your preferred poison with me in celebration, if for no other reason than to show 2020 your favorite finger.
Happy New Year, Reader. The future is your story to write.
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