It's been a year of loss- to say the least.
We've lost some of our freedom, our security, people have lost jobs and worst of all, people have lost people.
I'd very much like to stop living through historical events thankyouverymuch.
It's easy to sit and dwell on all these things but when I do that it makes me want to fill up my glass with wine and not stop filling it up until I forget all the things this year has taken from us.
But I want to think a different way. This year has also given me a lot (a privileged point of view) but I think if we all took a second to think, we might see some things we've gained as well.
I'll go first:
- I gained the ability to work from home. I wanted to work from home so badly before the pandemic and it just didn't seem like a possibility. Then all of a sudden we all worked from home and somehow it worked. I've spent many days typing away in my pyjamas, happily moseying over to the kitchen to make a fresh pot of coffee and stopping by to pet Pete on the way. It's a calmer and cozier life than my one before and it feels good.
- I took up walking alone. Seems like a simple thing, right? Before the pandemic I felt like a bit of a nut going for a walk. I don't have a dog so I felt like someone aimlessly wandering the streets. Then I threw that limiting belief out the window and just left the house. I've walked almost every inch of town. I found a favourite route and listened to audio books and podcasts. I've stopped and took a giant whiff of forested air or paused to watch the leaves as the wind shook them from trees. I took photos of the simple beauties I saw like blooming trees, sun flares, and paths littered orange with leaves. I felt a lot more peace and gratitude.
- I had time to learn new things. Along with everyone else on the planet I learned to make rye bread. I learned how to make an amazing margarita. I tried baking tarts. We bought a bread maker and are experimenting with different recipes. I'm learning the piano. I've wanted to learn an instrument all my life- and dabbled as a kid but I've never tried again as an adult. Something made me feel like it was too late. This year I said screw it and asked to borrow my sister's keyboard. Now I'm taking lessons I find on youtube and just enjoying messing around.
- I'm knitting again. I haven't knit in a couple years and it feels so good to get back to it, to do something creative and work with my hands instead of letting them scroll through a screen.
- We've gotten super into hiking. This has truly been my greatest joy to come out of quarantine. Every weekend lately we've found a trail nearby, woken up early and gotten out to it. I can't describe how much happiness it brings me to be outside, to be away from screens and electronics, to move my body and to feel the calm and beauty of nature. It's opened our minds for more camping trips and winter hiking possibilities and now I'm dreaming of a day someday when we can have a cabin of our own and be in nature all the time!
This year has taken things from us in many different ways. We've lost the opportunity to connect with so many people, to see them, to hug them. We cancelled our dream, bucket list trip to Japan in March. We have faced uncertainty about so many things in the future. We've also been given so much this year. We bought a new house that we love and are so happy in. We've spent more time with our families than ever before. We've spent more time together doing new things and more time in nature. We've gotten as much as we have had taken.
I'm sure if you think too there's a lot that may have come from this year to you as well.
