Five Gifts from 2020
Somewhere in the hustle and bustle of working hard to build the life they wanted (or thought they wanted), people didn’t have time to really live in the life they built.
“If I only had more time” was their phrase of choice.
And then one day we had all the time in the world.
Unfortunately, all that available time was harnessed to harrowing uncertainty that made even simple tasks seem insurmountable.
However, painful situations force growth. 2020 was the year of the gift of life lessons.
Clarity
2020 brought debilitating shock to our first-world lives. However, it also clarified what was really important.
Failure has a unique way of bringing clarity to situations. Not only was failure in 2020 painful, but the pain was also heightened by the lack of busyness and distraction that are present in “normal” life.
Finding clarity didn’t happen overnight. However, having the time to process, and journal was a gift that I would not have had any other year.
Coping Mechanisms
Speaking of heightened emotions and stress that failure brings, 2020 also provided me with the opportunity to level-up my coping mechanisms.
Wine and Netflix are awesome, but when abused, they lead to a rather unfilling life. “Luckily” lockdown was long enough to allow me to grow tired of wine and Netflix and to flex my personal growth muscles.
Meditation and long walks are now my wind-down activities of choice. As lockdown continues and long walks become more challenging because of the weather, I look forward to embracing indoor mini-workouts. Just the fact that I can write these words surprises me. 2020 truly has given me a gift in making better choices.
Quality Family Time
Quality family time really was the double-edged sword of 2020.
Our family, like many others, consisted of two parents trying to work from home, while homeschooling, cooking all the meals (we live in a small town with minimal takeout options) for months and months on end, really shines a light on how things are working in a family dynamic.
Many people, when put in the pressure cooker of 2020, realized that their relationships weren’t working. In our house, we realized that we needed to communicate more clearly.
Our family definitely loves and needs each other but that doesn’t mean that we are mind readers.
2020 was a blessing and a challenge in terms of family life, but also we developed better communication skills. These enhanced communication skills will serve us in all aspects of our lives.
Importance of Community
This past year intensely highlighted the importance of community. Reminders that there are good people who put their money and actions where their beliefs are breathed new life into my belief in humanity.
Whether it is the kindness of a neighbour (and I seriously don’t know how I would have survived 2020 without my next-door neighbour) or watching my friends and social media pals rally around small businesses, a renewed appreciation for our communities is one of the biggest gifts of the past year.
Passions and Hobbies
A reflection on 2020 would not be complete if we did not talk about hobbies–especially baking bread and gardening.
Twelve months ago I, like most of my contemporaries, did not know how to make bread. Truth be told, I hardly even ate bread at the beginning of 2020. Challenges, time to fail, and then amply time to try again, have allowed our generation to master long-forgotten life skills.
2020 has taught the world that given enough time and some flour, water, dirt, and seeds, this generation will rise to the occasion and feed the entire community!
2020 was a year that we will all remember. As the year comes to a close, take time to look at the seemingly insurmountable challenges you faced and somehow got to the other side.
If there ever was a year that you could raise a glass to simply surviving, 2020 would be the year. However, if you take a moment and truly look for it, you will find that we grew as a human or learned a new skill. These life lessons are the real gift this holiday season.
