Guest Blog 2021: A Year For Healing (A Mother-Daughter Reflection)
We (Zoe and Jenny) decided to co-author a piece based on what we experienced in 2020 and how we might use it to not only rebuild our world but to reshape it for the better.
2020 was the year of extremes. People weren’t allowed to see their loved ones in nursing homes, schools shifted from in-person to virtual learning, tens of millions of people lost their jobs, our nation faced significant social and racial reckoning, and almost 2 million people died from COVID-19 worldwide.
This may be the eternal optimist in us, but despite all these hardships, we believe there were still some silver linings. Many kids were able to spend more quality time with their parents as work travel lightened significantly. Educators were able to leverage technology to allow for more customized learning experiences. And, a vaccine was developed in under a year (versus the typical 10 years) because of the outpouring of resources and collaboration among some of the smartest people in the world from across the public and private sectors.
In many ways, 2020 reminded us of what matters most: our health, our families, and our wellbeing. We have encountered challenges like never before. And while difficult, the sorrow and frustration we have faced has taught us resilience, perseverance, and gratitude. Somehow having less has actually made many of us feel more grateful for what we do have.
As Maya Angelou said, “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.”
We are looking forward to 2021 and the hope it brings for a year of healing. Healing in the physical sense (of course, from COVID), but also on a mental and emotional level. There are many things we have to fight to change, including the social and environmental challenges that we witnessed this year – from inaccessible healthcare to the wildfire and air quality issues that plagued the west coast to a lack of access to quality childcare for so many. In 2021, we must show unity. We can use what we collectively experienced in 2020 to not only rebuild our world but to reshape it for the better. Healing, at its best, is not just about returning to where you were before, it’s about restoring, strengthening, and reinvigorating for the future.
So bring on 2021!
May it usher in a renewed sense of hope and healing for us all.
Photo credit: Rebecca Emily Photography
