2020, a year that has earned its forever stamp as being the most gruesome shit show in our recent history, is finally coming to an end. As I try to process the enormity of it all; the pandemic and the astonishing number of causalities, the economic fallout, racial injustice, the spike in mental health cases and the most heavily contested presidential election on record that completely divided nation, I can’t help but to wonder, was this inevitable?
Was this god-awful year the end result after having decades of poor, one-sided leadership and the immense gaslighting we received in order to make it acceptable? Were the silent screams of the millions who are enduring inequality, poverty and desperation finally able to break through and shake us out of this trance? Was this year the last straw for avoided dreams and goals or the payback for expecting maximum benefits with minimal effort?
It would be safe to say that 2020 was indeed a reckoning; a global atonement for taking life and all of its precious gifts for granted. There was not a single person on this planet that was not impacted by this pandemic in some form or fashion. It forced mankind into isolation where there was no choice but to see exactly the kind of people we really are. It divided us into two distinct groups; those that give a shit, and those who don’t. Masks and social distancing were viewed as either gestures of love and kindness, or as a source of oppression and fear. There was no middle ground.
2020 also forced this country to contend with its racist foundation and how those in power continue to uphold it. It showed that half of the country was in favor of having an abhorrent, racist, xenophobic dictator as the leader of the free world, and chose hate over democracy. It lifted the veil of false equality for everyone to see, and caused many to either acknowledge that they have been a part of the problem or refuse to believe that there is any problem at all.
I, like so many others, have survived this madness thus far, and it is something that I do not take lightly. And while this painful year has forced me to reckon with my many shortcomings up to this point, and to identify the ways in which I intend to do better, it has also forced me to put things into a much deeper perspective. I hope this hits you as hard as it did me.
If walking in the midst of an invisible killer, that chooses who will succumb to its vicious attacks, isn’t enough to shake you into a renewed existence; if you remain the person that you are after watching the virus bypass you and your spouse and children, but choke the life out of your parents, your best friends or your neighbors; if you turned a blind eye or deaf ear to the beckoning of a greater purpose, while hundreds of thousands are helplessly derailed from their own, then quite frankly, you are wasting precious air and there is no hope for you.
If you did not use this year-long lockdown to reboot your life, to explore new career prospects, to restore relationships, to take leaps into the unknown, to cut ties with those who are dead weight and strengthen your tribe. If you refused to finally seek help with healing old wounds; if those books on your shelf have even more dust on them; if you still have no idea who your children are or what they are interested in.
If ultimately, you decided to take the person you have always been into 2021, then you were never intending to change anything about your life to begin with and therefore, you have absolutely nothing to complain about.
Life as we knew it is no more. Our interactions with each other have been altered entirely and it will take time to find our footing within this new “normal”. But all is not completely lost; we who have been fortunate enough to survive this swirling vortex of hell have a rare opportunity to make real and lasting changes, and to finally create an environment where everyone has a fair shot at living the lives they want to live, and where love and decency is the true source of power.
My hope is that we all strive to be better humans in 2021, and beyond.
Cheers to making it this far.
