You are reading this after Thanksgiving Day has come and gone. From my perspective prior to the holiday, I am contemplating the year that has passed and looking forward into 2021.
To the surprise of many (most?) of us, we’ve made it this far. Back in March there was concern that we wouldn’t. Many didn’t.
I’ve often found myself thinking about our ancestors and how they addressed situations that they had never experienced before. Some came across great distances just to get to our shores and start new lives. Some found themselves crossing the continent to start over in a new place. None knew with any certainty that they would survive, let alone succeed. Many did neither.
I’ve heard it said that you don’t know your own strength until you go through difficult times. I find that I have to agree.
Life is not guaranteed to be easy. There are always things that happen to turn what has been routine and potentially mundane upside down. Perhaps Humans need that to inspire them to move forward and grow?
What I do know on this cold and rainy November day is that there is a lot to be thankful for. There is something to be looked forward to. It may not be what we would prefer, but still, there is Something.
It is easy to get caught up in the angst and negativity that abounds. I’ve always maintained that the negative emotions are addictive – possibly more so than positive emotions. I think, however, that now is a good time to take a few minutes to look around – make a focused effort – to see the positive. Make that a habit.
This year has been full of opportunities to see and do things that we never made time, had time, thought about or even attempted before. We’ve discovered things that we can do – things that many of us didn’t believe we were capable of.
We have rediscovered ourselves.
Like pioneers of old, we are finding out what we are made of and building on that foundation to make a better future.
One step at a time.
