The Gifts of 2020 

I’m taking inventory of the gifts I received in 2020 before welcoming 2021. Looking back, there were many that no other year has brought to me. Shifting the paradigm of “goodbye (or in some cases good riddance) to 2020, I’m choosing to focus on the hindsight of 2020. 

Here are just a few of the gifts which come immediately to mind: connections - more of them and with greater sincerity; acceptance - of what I can’t control…Oh, the many times I had to make good of the unexpected; boundaries - prioritizing what’s important to me - limiting my news intake; realizations and actions - for social justice; forgiveness - we are all doing are best; insights - from wisdom leaders; patience - for a loved one to heal from the virus… patience with one another as we stay “safe at home”; hope - for future travel, hugs, and seeing the smiles behind the masks…they are there; and trust - it really will work out in the end. “All will be well.”

It is through the adversities of 2020 that I’ve gained these gifts. In welcoming 2021, I want to be sure to take these with me and avoid some of the “traps” I was in, in the “normal” times. I hope that you’ll join me in changing the paradigm of 2020 - yes, it was a most challenging year, however, 2020 has had a great deal to offer. What are the gifts you gained from this past year?