Table of Content

• Year in Review
  • Goals
  • The Unwanted Visitor
  • The New Habits
  • The Essential
• What Can I be Thankful for in this Year 2020?
  • The Gratitude
  • Looking for the Positive
  • Time for Reflection

Year in Review

I have the advantage that at this time of the year, I have several important dates, inviting me to review the year that is ending. That helps me prepare and make plans for the year to come.

I start with my birthday at the end of October, then my anniversary of arriving in the US, followed by Thanksgiving (the Fourth Thursday of November), Christmas, and New Year’s.

Usually, in this revision, there are positive and negative things, good things, and others not too good to improve, but this year has been unusual. Oh! Yes, it’s been very unusual!

The Goals

It started like any other year, with renewed hopes, many goals, some to be completed from the previous year, others totally new, and others to be discarded.

Yes, discarding goals is as important as having new ones. Many people forget to discard those that are no longer important.

You might ask, and why should I discard goals, and the answer is simple. Life changes, and we do it as well with it. Our interests change, our needs change, one changes. And what seemed attractive, necessary, or challenging yesterday is no longer so today. So, it is very important to review that list of goals from the previous year, sort them, see which ones we met, those that we had yet to finish, those that were pending, and the new ones.

By discarding those that we are no longer interested in, we are freeing ourselves of a burden, that for some reason, many times we carry year after year with the sole result of consuming our energy and slowing down the journey. The more luggage we carry, the more energy we need, and the slower we go.

The Unwanted Visitor

I had already prepared my goal-reaching technique for the four quarters of the year. I had in mind to take a trip, prepared something special for my milestone birthday celebration, when suddenly the name of that virus, that I do not want to name but that we all know, began to sound.

Here in the United States, the president announced its existence and where it came from, but he told us that we were not to be alarmed, that it would soon leave, and that the few cases that were in the country were already under control.

In a short time, days or weeks, they became fashionable, better said, they were imposed as a fashion, very necessary indeed. I’m referring to the use of face masks, or as they say elsewhere, medical masks, surgical masks, or whatever they are called where you live.

We went from mocking the Japanese who wore them to go everywhere to the need to wear them for any activity we did outside our home. Oh! Let’s not forget the latex gloves which people put on for any occasion. And, by the way, they were worn incorrectly. People would touch all sorts of surfaces just to end up touching their faces or nose a few minutes later with those very same gloves, thus spreading the disease even more. Needless to mention the way people disposed them on sidewalks, on the floor of parking lots, shops, and even inside shopping carts.

The New Habits

We had to learn a new modality. We had to learn and acquire new habits. Actually, there are still many who need to learn those, like washing our hands and face more often, as well as stop touching our eyes, mouth or nose so that the virus does not enter through the mucous membranes.

Suddenly many of us had no jobs, no school classes, no social activities. We couldn’t even go for a walk, we were even afraid to eat.

I remember the first thing people started hoarding was toilet paper as if the virus attacked the digestive system instead of the respiratory system. In short, why should I continue telling you a story you already know and that one way or another, with some variants, we all have experienced.

The good thing about all this is the virus is an equalizer. It put the whole world on the same level. Regardless of nationality or social class, it dedicated itself to attacking everyone equally.

The Essential

If this pandemic made one thing clear to us, it was that as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said in his book The Little Prince, “The essential is invisible to the eyes”.

If you like movies, there are two versions of The Little Prince. Here are the links for more information: (1974) and (2015)

No brand, nor glamour. No money, nor jewelry. None of those things that make people feel so important. Nothing could replace our desire to see and hug our loved ones, or just having the pleasure of taking a walk feeling the sun or fresh air on our skin.

Those things that do not have a monetary price, those invisible things to the eyes, became essential.

What Can I be Thankful for in this Year 2020?

Although it may seem incredible and although I have already heard many people say something like: I cannot wait for this disastrous year to end!, or This year was the worst year of all!, or This was a lost year!. I don’t really think like that.

I think it was a very different and hard year, but for some reason, since I believe in God, I’m sure there was and there is a purpose behind all this.

The Gratitude

And yes, I also have a lot to be thankful for. To God, for the many blessings and abundance He gave me during this year. To my loved ones, neighbors, colleagues, and even to my pets, there are many things I need to thank them for.

I think the secret is in trying to see something good even in the worst of calamities. Some people can do this naturally, while others manage to do so after learning, after training to do it. Because, in case you didn’t know, looking at the bright side of things is something that can be learned.

Looking for the Positive Side

So I invite you to make a list of the good and positive things that you have had or learned this year. You can also include bad and negative things, from which you extracted something positive. You can say, what could be positive in the loss of my job, or the death of a loved one, in the weeks that I spent sick in bed. Without any doubt, all of those experiences are very painful, and pain and frustration do not let us see the good in them, but if you put a little effort, if you look at them objectively, it will be easier for you.

For a moment, pretend that all those negative experiences that may have happened to you, happened to another person, a loved one and that he or she is asking you for advice on how to handle that. And you, instead of lamenting back, find something positive in those experiences so you can lift the spirits of that dear person.

What would you say? What is the good and positive thing that you would point out?

That is extracting the positive from a bad experience.

Time for Reflection

Take this Thanksgiving celebration as a time for reflection, a time for an inner journey, a time to thank God, and if you don’t believe in God, I’m sure you have many others near and far away to thank them for more than one thing.

If this holiday is not celebrated where you live, it is no excuse. Do it alone or share with someone who likes this idea of taking this gratitude journey. Whatever the case, with someone else or alone, but do not stop doing it.

Will you argue that nobody ever thanks to you for anything? – That’s no excuse either. Start yourself. You only reap what you sow.

If you are interested in knowing more about the origin, traditions, and the Real Meaning of Thanksgiving Day, I recommend that you read the article I wrote last year, here.

“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

Psalm 118:24

What are your thoughts on this? Please, share in the comment area below. If you think this might help someone you know, please share the post on your social media using the icons below.

Have a beautiful Thanksgiving day this coming Thursday, November 26th, and may God bless you always!

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