A new year is like freshly fallen snow and we’re just a few steps in.
Happy 2021:).
I’ve heard those words said both emphatically and tentatively several times over the last week or so. It’s usually been followed by the words, “Well, it can’t be any worse than 2020.” Personally, I think it can and might be, but I guess what we can each control is our own perspective. Do I sound a bit tentative even in saying that?
But forward we go. So, like many others, I’m trying to maintain that odd balance between global and personal perspective, keeping informed but maintaining focus on putting one foot in front of the other in my own situation. Bring prepared and still remaining present in everyday life. Often I find the best way to do this is to focus on what my family and I can do.
What has that looked like for you? Everyone’s situation is so different, isn’t it? Celebrating Christmas was certainly different this year. We were able to attend our very first Boxing Day campfire in my family’s field! Our own sandwiches (albeit delicious ones) were unique substitutes for being hosted with a cooked dinner. A riddle/mystery game that didn’t involve passing game pieces was played across the fire instead of a game of Clue across a dining room table. There were lawnchairs instead of couches and rocking chairs. Snow boots instead of new socks and slippers.
Some things were the same though. Laughter was the same. Thankfulness was the same. The joy of giving and receiving was the same. “Merry Christmas” and “Happy New Year” and even shortbread and sugar cookies … all the same.
And so I head into the new year thinking of what we can still do – the trails we can walk on, the food we can cook, the movies and documentaries we can watch, the games we can play, the books we can read and all the people we can still connect with in a variety of ways.
Sometimes it helps to read books about the resolve of other people living through even more difficult times such as this one that S and I just finished, The Hiding Place (A truly inspiring and faith-filled true account, by Corrie ten Boom, but not a light read). Other times something lighter like James Herriot’s All Creatures Great and Small might be a better option. Although we need something to ground us in the seriousness of reality – something we can dig into for historical perspective and resolve for staying the course, we also need to branch out into the light, the endearing and the humorous, don’t we? Life is both.
It’s the same with what we might watch in the year ahead. We’ll likely continue with a certain amount of news, interviews, commentary and documentaries mixed in with a whole lot of comedy and pleasant information. L and I are enjoying Still Standing, Land and Sea, Rick Steves’ Europe and we are all craving a whole lot of Rick Mercer Report. There are no new seasons but so many short episodes to choose from online as he takes us all over Canada with his humour and antics – it has to be the funnest way to learn about Canadian culture and geography, although L is convinced the people in the places he visits must be frustrated with his shenanigans at times. All in good spirit, I say;).
Anticipating we would end up fairly holed up for the winter months, I snagged quite a few new little games. I didn’t want anything that took up too much space. We don’t have tons of space and we already have quite a few games, so these little boxes work perfectly. After Dinner Riddles have some really challenging ones. We haven’t played Categories yet.
Other things that catch my eye are the stories of innovative, determined, generous people. They are out there, many of them. I’ve included a few here. They include an 11-year-old girl sourcing out books that she can see herself and others of colour better represented in and doing a remarkable job of getting the word out, an entrepreneur creating a new opportunity after her business stopped due to the pandemic, and a young refugee boy eager to be able to play hockey in Newfoundland. Each of their stories involve moving ahead and trying new things rather than waiting for things to be fixed. They each involve a certain resourcefulness, scrappiness and determination. What I noticed particularly is that they involve the collaboration and support of other people – a girl with moral support from her father and followers, an entrepreneur and others in her neighbourhood (and her dog actually), a young boy and his new community.
Here is a bit more about that same boy.
So, I’m hoping to keep stepping into the new year with my eyes open to challenges but also to those stories that inspire, encourage and remind me that I can be creative in my own way, and that just grows exponentially when connected with others.
We spend January 1st walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives … not looking for flaws but for potential. – Ellen Goodman
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