Well we certainly are seeing out the year much differently than we could’ve imagined, and I suspect all are happy to ring 2020 out.

As I wade through the tinsel and wrap, munching on turkey scraps and gravy (I have a firm resolve to stick to a diet starting in the new year so I’m getting all the left overs in tonight) I can’t help but marvel at the events of this past year. A global pandemic literally changed our world, and while too many lives were lost, I know it could’ve robbed us of so much more. (the glass is still half full, always)

As a society we managed to band together, by staying apart, to preserve each other’s safety. And despite retail closures and limited gatherings, we still managed to find the joy of the season. Hope really is the last to die, and our fellow man really is capable of unconditional love.

That the events of this past year are unprecedented, at least in my lifetime, is an understatement – the last time our world was rocked to this extent was during our parents and grand-parents generation, in1939 with the onset of the 2^nd world war. Did they learn anything, other than fear, pain, and loss?  Have we?

I have to say, yes, because I’m nothing if not an optimist. They survived a devastating world war and emerged stronger,,,,, surely we will? We have all witnessed first-hand what mankind is capable of with respect to sacrifice, fear, and suffering in the throes of the Coronavirus. It may not have decimated towns and villages as quickly as bombs and tanks, but loss of life is still loss of life and no less a loss.

I think, like most of us, I learned that what’s really important in life is life. I’ve learned that simple really is best, and that less is more. (I’ve also learned that cranberry sauce isn’t bad on a bagel, in a pinch)  It’s not about the stuff, rather more about the stuffing, and this pandemic has profiled the very ‘stuff’ we are made of, good and bad.

I wonder how this experience will change our habits going forward. Will we forgo the lavish holiday parties and expensive gifts when this is over? (It’s not like we weren’t prone to excess)  Will we exercise more consideration of our fellow man? At the very least I’d like to think we have learned patience, and humility, and acceptance, and kindness, because human life is just that, life, and life doesn’t discriminate…..so why would we? Just like Scrooge, we should all make a commitment to live each day as though it were Christmas, even in tough times. Let’s hope 2021 brings better things for us all.

                       Love – Peace – Hope……for a better world.