At the end of every year, I reflect on what it is has meant to me. This year, I am reflecting on what it might have meant to any, or most, or even all of us around the world. Just the thought of 2020 drains my energy. In fact, the first word that comes to mind as I reflect on this year is exhausting. Other words include tragic, depressing, terrifying, eye-opening, shocking, disappointing, isolating, and antisocial. However, as with any crisis, albeit a pandemic, a natural disaster, or gross social injustice, there has been a positive side too. There has been heroism, sacrifice, kindness, and a collective effort to reduce the suffering and to demand social justice. There has been hope despite it all, and currently, vaccines have become available for that promise to eventually end this COVID-19 pandemic.
Now, the question on most of our minds is what will the new normal look like? Many of us believe there is no turning back to the way things used to be, with or without masks and social distancing. Why? Because we have learned too much. We have learned too much about ourselves, each other, our healthcare systems, our employers, and our governments. Like the spaghetti western movie, the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, we who have been paying attention have seen it all--the good, the bad, and the ugly.
In the United States, the pandemic and the social media videos that captured police brutality across the U.S., revealed the underbelly of violent and systemic racism and systemic classism. The pandemic spotlighted the corruption in our federal government and its abuse of power with constant attacks against the poor, women, and workers, while increasing the tax cuts for the wealthy, deregulating corporations to the point of complete disregard for the survival of our natural resources, and providing such insufficient financial relief for the essential workers who lost their jobs that didn’t pay enough to live on in the first place, while rewarding their employers with corporate welfare. In this country, there has been so much injury and triple the insult added to the injury.
Trust is broken, thanks to the help of corporate media and its echo chamber that favors the wealthy elite’s spin on every issue. Americans are confused, frightened, angry, and depressed, trying to cope with a maze of mixed messages. They don’t know which authorities to trust because for all they know everyone has been bought off to lie, including every news source, every government official, and every scientist. Even the most educated among us cannot be an expert on everything. Eventually, we have to bite the bullet and trust someone. But who? Who can we really trust? Personally, I like the idea of trusting Dr. Fauci, since he has proven himself with prior public health crises such as Ebola. And, from the pattern I have observed there are those politicians, especially the current President Trump, who lie so much that it is possible we can trust that whatever they say, the opposite is probably true.
Trust has also been broken between many friends and family members because the year 2020 demanded from each and every one of us to take a stand on all the issues. It became a year when our political differences rose to the boiling point because the issues became much more severe and consequential—matters of life and death. No longer could the disregard for safety boundaries for protection from a potentially fatal disease be tolerated. No longer could the brutal and tragic disregard for the lives of black people be tolerated. No longer could the disregard for the working poor be tolerated. No longer could the hypocrisy of “fake Christians” who steal from the poor and support the abuse of women be tolerated, and so on.
Oh, yes, when the truth breaks out, all hell breaks loose. This year has been the epitome of the Pandora’s Box story. The lid of the box that kept all the evils of the world contained and hidden fell open, and all the diseases and malice flew out and impacted us all to one degree or another. However, the last thing that flew out of Pandora’s box was the butterfly of hope, and our 2020 story has a hopeful ending as well.
The butterfly, of course, is the best symbol for miraculous transformation. We have seen the dark side of our human nature this year. In fact, it is has stared us in the face day in and day out. But we have also seen the angelic side of human nature. I have noticed many people quietly going out of their way to be kind and respectful, more than any other time before. The “pay-it-forward” concept has grown in popularity. For every unkind and selfish person who has spread both the physical and the antisocial diseases, I have seen at least one person who is consciously and deliberately countering that toxic influence and striving harder than ever before to bring more healing, peace and harmony to our world.
On social media, we have seen human atrocities committed, but we have also seen thousands of brave people march in protest, risking their lives in the middle of a pandemic to defend their fellow citizens. And in this last presidential election, Americans took their final stand against corruption and injustice and voted for change.
This year has been soul crushing, but it has also been enlightening. Many of us have done intense soul searching, and, I believe, our memories of 2020, ironically, the number representing hindsight, will continue to be the catalyst for self-improvement and a collective transformation for the better. So much damage has been done, but we can take the future one step at a time and take our power back to create a better destiny. Every little thing we do makes a difference. Remember the butterfly effect. Embrace the hope. Believe in the magic of love and kindness, and every day will be better than the day before.
May we learn from the past, live in the present, and manifest a brighter future for us all. Let’s make 2021 the happiest year ever, and build a foundation for ever brighter years thereafter.
Happy New Year!
Photo Credit: Clarinta Subrata
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