The Most Important Year
The year is 2020. This is the year that started off with horrific bushfires in Australia that burned over 25 million acres of land, killed 33 people and one billion animals The world was then stunned by the sudden and tragic death of a sports icon and his daughter in a helicopter crash. These events were set aside when the entire world was struck with a pandemic. While we were still attempting to navigate quarantine and isolation, our country was catapulted into riots and protests across the country stemming from the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer.
Many people, myself included, have joked that we want 2020 to be canceled. We would prefer to jump into our time machine and propel ourselves to January 1, 2021, so we can get past these incredibly trying times without any further pain and suffering. But, if we really had a choice to cancel 2020, would we really want to? What would we miss by not experiencing these events?
Let’s start with the wildfires in Australia. Lives of people and wildlife were forever lost. There is nothing we can do to change those sad facts. There were some beautiful stories to come from such tragic events. From teens saving burned koalas to firefighters cuddling injured koalas, and the amazing discovery of an ancient aboriginal aquaculture system that predates the Egyptian Pyramids! More importantly, however, was the awareness these fires brought by showing the impact of climate change and how we may be setting the stage for future tragedies if we do not enact change now. At the very least, it has made us all more aware of our ever-changing planet.
When a well-loved sports hero dies, it is shocking, but when a child dies it is devastating. This is what we were faced with this year with the death of Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gigi. Usually, those that are the most appreciative of life are those of us who are sick or dying, but when the death of someone healthy, famous, and young happens we are all forced to face our own mortality. Kobe and Gigi’s deaths will not be in vain if they cause us to hug our children a little bit tighter as we realize that we are all mortal and can be faced with death at any time. In that moment of time, when we all heard the horrible news, we were all linked together as families, as communities, and within and between ethnic groups. We were united. Perhaps this was to prepare us for what was yet to come: a global pandemic.
In March, the entire world was sent home under strict quarantine when the realities of Covid-19 became frighteningly apparent. The world stopped. Every time we watched the news or went onto social media, we saw the death toll rise from this mostly unknown disease. We were again forced to face our own mortality. The stress from the resultant fear was compounded by our being forced to stay inside. Day after day trying to learn how to work from home, many of us with children, and begin our “new normal” was onerous. Then, once things settled down, we started to see some positive consequences of being at home. We spent a lot less money on gas and tolls. We could get up later as there was no more commuting to work. Bras were optional. It went deeper than that though. We spent time with our family that we would never have had but for being quarantined. New fathers who would normally be forced back to work soon after the birth of their children, were spending their days at home with their new family. Sure, this brought a bit of stress while trying to work at the same time, but is that time that will ever be regretted? Or will it be appreciated years from now when their “baby” is moving out of the house? For all of us, if one was looking for a way to better appreciate their life, being quarantined would do it. Will I ever complain about going to the gym again? Probably. But for now, I cannot wait to get on that treadmill, rower, and lift some weights.
The need for change has never been more apparent than with the recent events surrounding the death of George Floyd. Whichever side you are on in regard to the resultant protests and riots, one thing that everyone can agree on is that something in our society is broken. I make a point not to discuss politics here, so I will limit my thoughts regarding this incident to questions that I have asked myself: What can I do to learn and grow from this in a positive way? What can I do to bring people together, regardless of how different their beliefs are? All of us coming together is actually quite possible. This is because every single one of us wants the same thing from life, and that is joy. We can simply start with that truth. It is the desire for a joyful life that we all have in common.
This is where the meaningfulness of the events of 2020 comes full circle. We all want to be joyful but, in order to find joy, we must go through pain and adversity. If you felt happy all the time, you wouldn’t recognize it as happiness. You need to experience the opposite end of the spectrum sometimes to be able to truly recognize and appreciate happiness. And, when we are in pain, it helps to look away from ourselves. It makes the pain bearable. When we see others who are in pain we realize that we are not alone. We grow because of others. Suffering is necessary for developing compassion. Compassion leads to joy. Nothing beautiful comes without pain or frustration.
So, what else can happen? Don’t worry about it. Whatever does happen next, it will provide us with more opportunities for growth and memories that we would not have but for those impactful events. Light always finds a way out of the darkness. And sometimes darkness can show you the light.
See the links below for more stories from 2020 where the light pushed through the darkness:
https://onetreeplanted.org/blogs/stories/good-news-australia-bushfires
https://www.mystar106.com/more-positive-stories-from-the-george-floyd-protests/
https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-news/good-news-from-around-the-world
