My Love Letter To 2020
This morning in my journal I was writing out a draft of what I wanted to share with all of you and I said… “It’s customary to think about what you’re grateful for on Halloween.” That was a Freudian slip for sure, because I wish we could throw out all holiday’s besides Halloween, but what I really meant to say was, its customary to think about what you’re grateful for on Thanksgiving.
Ah, Thanksgiving, the gratitude holiday, from a positive psychology standpoint there is a huge impact directly benefitting our happiness levels (that’s been significantly backed up by research) when we spend time thinking about what we’re grateful for, why we are grateful for it, and what we did to bring it into our lives consistently. That’s why I don’t wait for thanksgiving to express my gratitude. Almost every day I write in my journal about what I’m grateful for. Today I wanted to think about my gratitude in a different way. I wanted to write 2020 a love letter and I’m sharing it with all of you…
Dear 2020,
Thank you for everything that’s unfolded this year. While there have certainly been things that have happened that have been enormously painful, amazing humans we’ve lost that I wish we could bring back, and suffering I wish we could erase, today I wanted to express to you what I’ve loved about this year, and reflect on all I’ve learned and all that I’ve been taught.
2020, this year you’ve helped me see and bring into even sharper focus what’s really important in my life. You’ve helped me filter out the noise and return to a space of understanding who and what I truly need in my life for me to feel rich and abundant.
This year has taught me how resourceful and nimble I can be, you’ve highlighted how needed my work is in this world and helped me return to my purpose in a time when making meaning out of what we’re experiencing is more needed than ever. This year has highlighted my talents for community building, baking bread, watercolor, and nurturing relationships.
Dear 2020 the most painful lesson you’ve brought has been showing me all the ways we are deeply divided as a country but I believe it’s because you are asking us to find a way to live with love. I will be focusing on not the painful differences going forward but focusing on the places where we are the same. I’m going to look for the common ground and build from there. I am going to listen more and not listen to change minds, I’m going to listen to understand. I’m going to listen to find empathy and then I am going to do my best to live from a place of integrity with love and respect for the humans on this planet together. We are all together in this boat and if I’m being asked to choose between hate & fear, or love, I want to be sure I’m choosing love. Thank you for showing me how important this choice is.
Oh, 2020, the vile racism that has been a part of the fabric of our country since the beginning even highlighted in Thanksgiving with the disgusting way we treated and displaced indigenous cultures have come to a head this year. The racial reckoning of this year has been painful for everyone to different degrees and forced us all to pay attention and for that I’m grateful. I am grateful that you made me think about the ways that I’ve participated in systems of racism, that you’ve showed me where I’ve acted in ways that are wrong. Thank you for highlighting where I have work to do in order to be actively anti-racist. Challenge accepted, I’m working to be better.
2020 I’m so thankful that you’ve shown me that I can love myself, that I can love who I am, and this year I’ve fallen in love with me! I love who I am, I love the person I was, the person I am and the person I’m becoming. I love the body I’m inhabiting this holy temple in all of it’s imperfect perfection that allows me to exist on this plane in this time and space. 2020 Thank you for teaching me this self love.
2020 you helped me rekindle my love of painting, and baking bread! These two activities ground me and bring me joy, and I use them to bring others joy and love as well. Thank you for these special gifts they are beautiful.
You’ve also brought me the best romance I’ve experienced maybe ever, I never would have thought that in the midst of global pandemic an old-fashioned meet in person kinda romance could be possible, I’m gob smacked. Thank you, I think I might also have my dad to thank for this one but that’s another letter entirely.
Dear 2020, you’ve been rocky, you’ve been painful, you’ve brought ups and downs, but thank you for all of the valleys that have showed me where my work is and thank you for all of the good that has shown me why it’s important to keep striving to lead with love.
With Love,
-Alisha
Now it’s you’re turn, what have you learned this year? What have the painful parts taught you, what are you grateful for? If you were to write a love letter to 2020 what would it say?