For nine months we have been standing still. So many things have passed by that should have been, in our hopeful minds, the thing to break the immobility.
And yet, we are stock-still, grinding through the inertia.
Perhaps that’s why this Solstice is, at last, when we can see the flicker of light signaling the defeat of the darkness. Not to put too fine a point on it, we are in transition.
As much as I have greatly enjoyed the levity of all the “fuck you 2020” posts, I am quite ready to leave this year in the past and look to 2021 sans the jaundiced eye of the past nine months.
No, I didn’t learn a new language, but I do have more skills on my ukulele. I didn’t reach my goal weight, but we did make a habit of daily family walks. We didn’t KonMari our home, but there have been donations and decluttering nonetheless. We have come to terms with our limits and the truth is that good enough, is still good.
I mastered a kick ass challah and my garden has never looked better. Through the fear, anger, and depression, I have learned to forgive and practice patience. Mostly with myself.
In this moment, when we are disconnected, I want to seize upon the thread that ties us together. I have been surrounded by tragedies that have been crushing to bear witness to. Loss of security, job, and life. Friends and family from the front line to the back of the line. None of us is untouched by this collective trauma.
But isn’t that the unbelievable thing? Us. Together. We.
We are depleted and we are resilient.
It’s Solstice, and soon another year begins. I sincerely hope we will pull on that thread and feel each other doing the same thing.
I miss you. I can’t wait to see you. I look forward to creating and collaborating with you. I hope you take care and stay safe. There’s work to do, but maybe this next go around, we can be a little kinder and empathetic. Maybe we can respect the moments of stillness instead of filling the space with things that no longer serve us. Haven’t we at least learned that? We can and should value the we.
Happy Solstice. See you in 2021.