For many of us 2021 couldn’t arrive fast enough. As we gathered virtually for the traditional New Year’s Eve Burning Bowl and White Stone service at The Unity Center, it was easier than ever to fill the page of Things to Let Go Of from 2020. Watching that list magically dissolve in a bowl of water and flush it away was very freeing.
This year, however, there was a different list to fill out – “Taking the Learning Forward.”
Here was the opportunity to look at the changes 2020 brought in a new light- as learning experiences. Some examples from my list follow:
- I learned a new four-letter word, ZOOM, that allowed me to continue to teach, coach, meet with family and friends, take classes, and connect, despite the pandemic.
- I learned that my husband can run the vacuum cleaner and run the wet mop, so we make quite a compatible and efficient cleaning crew.
- The number of things I could do without leaving the house was amazing, from mailing a package to dancing tango in the kitchen at a virtual milonga.
- When I ended up in the ER with acute appendicitis, I learned that I could make it through surgery with lots of prayers and good wishes but no attentive husband by my side.
- When fear and uncertainty came calling, I learned how important my spiritual practice is, and continues to be,and how I can be a calming presence.
- My family and friends became even more precious as I missed the chance to give them hugs in person.
Thank you for allowing me to share some of this therapeutic exercise. I hope you’ll be inspired to try your own list. The lessons from 2020 will influence how we move through this year and many to come.
Poet John o’ Donohue said it beautifully as he ended “At the End of the Year.”
“We bless this year for all we learned,
For all we loved and lost,
And for the quiet way it brought us
Nearer to our invisible destination.”