2021 - The Year
2020 Survival into 2021 “Thrival” (Thriving)
The New Year limped in after 365 battering-ram days. 2020 brought with it calamities, casualties, new lows of conduct, and stressors beyond measure. I won’t recount the social events that occurred because you, Reader, have lived it enough and know for yourself how trying that time was…and is. Since we are still in the throes of clamoring to the other side of a pandemic and a governmental leadership transition, 2020 seems to be refusing to dissolve into the past where it belongs.
I can only imagine what this experience was, and is, like for you. I can only relay my own concrete reality and perspective. Hopefully, it resonates with you and I can give a name for how you might be feeling.
While facing a traumatizing period or event, the body, mind, and spirit are fully engaged in surviving the circumstances. Only afterward can the revelation of the event be fully appreciated. I think that’s why I waited until January 4th to post anything.
For me, 2020 was supposed to be The Year I started publishing my writing to a website that I learned how to build on my own. It was supposed to be The Year I got serious about improving my spiritual health, my physical health, my relationships, both with myself and others, and my mental health. It was The Year that I overcame past traumas while addressing new ones. “Boundaries” was the foreign language that I was going to practice and become proficient in.
All of that was set aside as I joined the world in adapting to a way of life that was necessary for survival. And, not in the hoky way we sometimes use the word “survival” but in a very sobering way in response to a very real, life-threatening virus overtaking the planet. There was no escape from this truth and there was nowhere to run. There still isn’t into this new year. What there is, however; is a comprehension of the threat and a plan to eliminate it.
This gives me hope.
Maybe this means that 2021 might be The Year I planned for in 2020 and maybe it won’t. Who can say?
What I did glean from 2020 is that planning for a year to be The Year is a big leap from where you were to where you are to where you want to be. If I didn’t accomplish the entire plan, I did at least make small strides and discover HUGE issues that I had to let go of in order to stay afloat in the ocean of insanity and dysfunction. And for me, that’s a gigantic step in the right direction.
Realizing that there are forces in your life that are major drags to your spiritual energy is so crucial to getting closer to the plans you make for The Year. Identifying those forces and snipping the cord that was attached to your psyche is so freeing. Having the resolve to face the circumstances and emotional upheaval after that cord is snipped is challenging because new patterns of behavior have to be undone while new patterns of behavior must be developed. This can feel like you are adrift and lost while the path of normalcy is carved into hard earth. It’s unfamiliar but vital to your very being. Likely, there will be periods of depression, sadness, elation, relief, and grief. I’ve experienced all these things and more.
Now that I’ve let go of a few drags on my spirit, I’m hopeful that 2021 will be The Year I realize that it’s not about The Year. It’s about the moment and being more IN it. Each day is fraught with ups and downs, ins and outs, comforts and discomforts - definitely in the days that we are collectively in together. I hope that I can quickly recognize a threat to any of my compartments of health and eliminate that threat wisely and assertively using healthy boundaries and not feel guilty about declaring them.
I don’t know what your circumstances are but you do deserve to be healthy, whole, and authentically you without shame. You deserve to feel the moments as they come and be kind to yourself while celebrating all the steps that make you truly free from despair.
