THE YEAR THAT WAS #2020!
10 Reasons why 2020 was not all that bad.
There are no right answers to any of those questions, but there are people in every part of the world trying to cope and hold on, and stay sane in the absence of human touch, familial warmth and company that was not controlled or decided by existing government regulations.
We tried to keep up with everything 2020 threw at us, as best as we could, with little feats at work, by cleaning our kitchens twice a day, finding out that gardening is actually enjoyable, baking a 1000 new things, that you never knew you could. We video called each other at all times of the day, we arranged for visual surprises when we couldn’t fly home to family, we fought, we persevered and we kept on keeping on because such is the inextinguishable human spirit.
But 2020 has also been a list of epiphanies and little bursts of absolute creativity and hard realizations, and here’s a list of things 2020 made me realize, now more than ever.
*1*
I must learn to be grateful for the company I keep, cause not everybody has company. There are people who have spent days, weeks and even months craving for warmth of a fellow human, craving to lay out one extra plate on the dining table that they hadn’t seen outside a digital box, waiting to smell familiarity again.
Yes, I said smell, because people that you love have a smell about them, they smell just like them and no one else. That experience in itself is singular and inimitable.
*2*
Distance is a real filter, and sometimes it tells you who you truly need in your life and who you wouldn’t perish without. Not a completely bad thing. You learn to prioritize. And primarily you learn about yourself because for once you cannot avoid your problems in the white noise that surrounds you.
*3*
People are the most compassionate when you bear you heart out to them, learn to do that more often. Learn to talk beyond ‘ So what was your day like?’ but also okay if that’s what you want to start with. Make cups and cups of tea/coffee, and let that burning hot fluid calm you down.
*4*
There is such a thing as toxic positivity – you aren’t supposed to be crazy happy all the time, and you shouldn’t have to fake it. We’re living in a pandemic, it’s practically impossible to push away all your 500 thoughts and convince yourself that everything is in order. Everything is probably not, but you’ll figure it out, give it a li’ll time and breathe. If you need a good cry, or 2 hours of extra sleep or one Saturday in bed, you must have it without being shamed into feeling like a negative (read : practical) presence.
*5*
At a time when not going to cafe/bars/pubs/restaurants is saving all our money, we must find a way to splurge on other things.
By other things I mean hobbies (ofcourse). Most of us discovered new things that we’re each good at – be it pottery, painting, cooking, sewing – endless list. Yes, even your cocktail experimentations’ because it’s 2k20 and it’s 5’O’ clock somewhere, Bub.
*6*
Strangers deserve kindness too, and you can see your neighbours light up with joy when you remember to check in with them before leaving for the grocery store or leave a cake outside their door on important days, or check up every once in a while even when you do not have to borrow sugar or milk or tools or anything.
*7*
Art exists in every direction, and this year I’ve had a lot of time to walk around and discover it – outside of all the fancy places we’ve ever been to. The graffiti on the post pox next to my street, the peeling wall paint, every sunrise & sunset that were so bountiful & calming in their own sense, your sisters’ new guitar jingle, the molten metal piece at the centre of your terrace that previously meant nothing to you. It is all art, in abundance.
*8*
Little joys are often missed in the course of our hectic everyday lives. But this year we had the chance to celebrate every little thing, we did – from 3 month anniversaries to a productive meeting to birthdays to our new pets’ first cute pictures – we stopped at nothing. And I love that we looked for the slightest reasons to pop that champagne bottle and eat more cake.
*9*
We exercised very little restraint on ourselves, which is great in a world where we walk on eggshells around people and watch what we eat, what we say, how we breathe and how we meet. ‘It is a pandemic’ – was our one true justification and rightly so, we did let it go and it was about time to do just that.
*10*
We loved better and realized the value of love better. We did, look around you and look within you and you’ll notice a stark difference between this year and the years before where we have all been a little distracted, a little too much.
There is so much more that could be put on this list, but there’s only so much for your attention span I can hold onto. I hope this year, apart from being disastrous in all ways possible, has also taught you to appreciate the little things that you barely noticed all these years, while you still had access to them, but took them for granted – be it love that looked out for you, people, relationships, things, niceties – anything!
I hope you’re wiser , stronger, better, kinder, and ready to maybe go back out into fast-paced lives you used to lead before, or maybe you’re rethinking your pace and life altogether.
Either way I’m excited for you.
-Kay
