Come What May

Over the last few days, it’s been lovely to see Facebook turn into a very happy place again. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen it to that degree, and I thought that’d continue for a bit. Or hoped, at least. No such luck, though. Everyone’s down again, and I get it - there’s a lot of sad things in the world to dwell on, so of course there’s a lot of sad dwelling going on. But, I’m not sure how healthy that is. So I wanted to try reminding people of something because it was nice getting swept up in the positivity and cheer on here for a few days.

If you’re reading this, you survived a year. An entire year. You may have done so with less or with hardship, but you did it. You have a roof over your head, and meals at your tables, and clothes on your backs. You probably lost someone close to you. I know I did. But, you woke up today, which means that you’re already better emotionally than you were the day before.

You’ve shown how adaptable you can be. It’s easy to do the usual day to day, as it means we don’t have to change too much. And change can be an absolute son of a bitch. But not only did you change, you adapted and you grew. That’s huge, and you did that.

You more than likely learned things about friends that made you look at them differently. Their actions or inactions weren’t the same as yours, so you had tough choices to make in how much a part of your world you wanted them to still be going forward. And that doesn’t mean you didn’t or don’t care if that choice meant a shift in that dynamic. It just meant that you had to do what was right for you. And you stuck to your guns when you did it. That can be lonely, but you forged ahead and you weathered it, because what you saw as important was important enough for you not to discount it. Well done you!

Many of you learned something new. I saw you! New languages, instruments, kitchen techniques, you name it, you did it! Do you know how hard that is when we get older? To have that focus and that time? You learned something new. Take great pride in that!

I saw a lot of you become very focused on the people who matter most to you, as your groups got a bit smaller. Anyone who knows me well knows that I find calling more than around four people “friends” incredibly weird, but that’s what we do here in social media land, so I roll with it. It was interesting for me to see who you gravitated towards in your banter. A sort of a who you picked for your gang, thing. And what’s so impressive about that is you cemented the value of those interactions. You made them better and steady, and that’s beautiful.

So, so many of you became vocal about things you care very much about. Some of you shied away, and I’ve got to admit I was surprised and a bit disappointed by that. But, there was some mighty fine passion seen this year too. And those of you who showed it made it clear that you were more aware of not just your surroundings, but the world as a whole, and how small it is in terms of cause and effect. That’s so important in terms of that whole ripple thingy. I hope you let those fires keep burning inside of you for whatever gives you that spark. Maybe stoke them every now and then. You made great points with facts from backed up sources, and it mattered! Good on ya!

I don’t know your struggles if you haven’t told me, so I hope you know that I’ve seen only the sadness and the pain, or the happiness and joy, that you’ve presented publicly here unless you’ve entrusted me with the rest. And it’s broken my heart for you and for the people you love when I’ve seen you sad. I in no way mean to make light of any hardships that have befallen anyone this year by saying we should just do as those Python lads do and “Always Look On The Bright Side...”, yada, yada, yada, but my point is this. It has been a strange and a challenging year for many of you, but it was also doable because you’re here. You’re stronger than you think. You can move bloody mountains if you want to because you are marvels who faced so much and can still find joy in waking up in the morning. And that? Well that’s just brilliant! And it’s the farthest thing from terrible I can think of.

So…look at you go! I’m proud of you. All of you, because I’ve seen what you’ve shown this year. The good, the bad, the ugly, the beautiful, the comfy, and the uncomfy. I’ve seen it all. And I wait with such anticipation for what your next year brings. Because you’ve proven you’ve got this, come what may.