What A Year

 
I couldn’t believe 2020 is almost over. It started just like any other year, but what a year it has been. It’s time raking the leaves for good measure.

It will be long remembered as the time of the coronavirus pandemic causing more than a million deaths and bringing about the largest global recession in history. In the U.S., it will be also be the year of increased racial tensions, political polarizations, and natural disasters with record-breaking Atlantic hurricanes and wildfires in the West.

No doubt about it, the realities of these events have affected our everyday lives in more ways than one. It’s how we deal with them that counts. We can either face them in a positive light or go dark that leads to fear, anguish and depression.

As a case in point, to control the spread of Covid-19, we have been advised to wear a mask, self-isolate, practice social distancing, and celebrate the holidays only with the people we live with. While it goes against our natural inclination to travel and connect and interact with one another, it also helps us go back to the basics and let nature heal itself with less human activity.

As we head into the new year, I see the world evolving as a result of these extraordinary events occurring in 2020. Our society will be transformed and the way we interact with one another changed forever. For the better or worse? Only time will tell.

 
Perhaps we can start by simply putting this bumper sticker on our cars, “Live simply that others may simply live.” The choice is ours. We’re all in this together.

Wishing you and your loved ones all the best during these trying times. Be safe and stay healthy.