Reflections on 2020

This time of year, you will see many retrospectives about the year that was. 2020 will have many memorable moments, but not many we actual want to reflect on or remember. The Global Coronavirus Pandemic, the devastating forest fires, the murder hornets, the election madness, the social unrest and protests, and the unexpected passing of some notable icons all reminder us that most of the milestones of the year that was aren’t the things we will cling too.

As the new year looms, many of the challenges of 2020 linger. Global economic uncertainty, travel bans, and restrictions, unemployment, and COVID-19 lockdowns remain a reality. Climate change continues to produce record temperatures and killer storms in every hemisphere and public discourse continues to be fractured.

The isolation for the past year has also manifested unintended consequences. Higher violent crimes and domestic violence incidents continues to rise. Child neglect and abuse cases have never been higher and the rate of suicide global has exploded as people continue to struggle with the effects of the pandemic.

None of this is good news and all of this makes us all yearn for a new year full of hope and possibilities. Anxious to break the cycle of negativity, in 2021 we will need to fight to find the positive. The vaccines are the beginning of world wide hope to restore some normalcy but they are not the only nugget of possibilities.

Even the smallest win should be celebrated because if the refrain is true that “you get what you give”, everyone needs to pay close attention to the laws of attraction and dig deep for the positives. It is within us all that find the spark of hope.

Perhaps we need to seek out the little victories instead of waiting for a “huge” event to change our lives. Perhaps spending more time at home means, time to mend broken relationships. Working from home can spark creative moment to give you new solutions and options. Home schooling can connect you with your kids’ educational path and help you get involved with reforms needed to improve the status quo. Watching social unrest and political reporting might motivate you to get involved in a cause to make a real difference in your community.

There is not arguing that millions of us are unemployed, struggling and hungry. We can’t hide from these facts, but ask yourself what can you control? What can you do to make 2021 different? It might be a simple mindset change, or it might require a massive shift. How do you begin?

• Read an inspiration novel or nonfiction book
• Reconnect with music
• Paint, sculpt, build or experiment with an artform
• Meditate, yoga or regular exercise
• Find support, meet with a group or professional
• Declutter and organize your surroundings
• Donate clothes and possession you are using
• Volunteer
• Mentor a child
• Dance
• Laugh more
• Find spiritual guidance
• Get enough sleep
• Go outside
• Start a gratitude journal
• Share a kindness, pay it forward and perform random acts of humanity

Ultimately, just take a step forward. Change a habit, alter a pattern and focus on what you have vs. what you don’t have. Make a new path and chart a new course even if means making simple changes or radical transformation. Consider that Beethoven wrote timeless music and he as completely deaf; Shakespeare wrote classic prose and poetry in the midst of the black plague; Franklin Roosevelt was paralyzed from the waist down from polio and still became President of the United States; Oprah Winfrey overcame abuse and poverty to be one of the most successful philanthropists of our time and , J.K Rowlings became a best-selling author while struggling as an unemployed, single parent.

They all share one common trait. Passion. These accomplished men and women and thousands others who have overcome overwhelming odds to change history all were driven by a fire, a passion to be more than just ordinary. They didn’t allow external circumstances, their class status or education to stand in the way. They all started with one small step forward.

Here are few names of ordinary people that also took  stand, made a difference and you probably don’t recognize their names.

Ryan White
Lilly Ledbetter
Irena Sendler
Cindy Lightner
Todd Beamera
Anthony Omari
Lou Xiaoying
Floran Grosuleac
Betty Tisdale
Nicholas Winton
Maggie Barankitze

You can find their individual stories here…

8 Ordinary People Who Made an Extraordinary Difference

https://www.rd.com/list/inspiring-stories-9-ordinary-people-who-changed-history/

You don’t have to embark into an earth-shattering actions. Even a small action or change can be the catalyst.

Remember one small drop in the ocean can make a wave that reaches every shore. So, pick up a pebble and start your own ripple.