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What if 2020 isn’t cancelled?

What if 2020 is the year we’ve all been waiting for?

A year so painful, so uncomfortable, so scary, so raw–

That it finally forces us to grow.

A year that screams so loud, finally awakening us

From our ignorant slumber.

A year we finally accept the need for change.

Declare change. Work for change. Become the change.

A year we finally band together, instead of pushing each other further apart.

2020 isn’t cancelled, but rather, 

The most important year of all.

-Leslie Dwight

We are near the end of an incredibly challenging year. This year has been inundated with events that have gone beyond our control. We have been in a constant state of grief, through a global pandemic, a loneliness epidemic, and ongoing civil unrest and fight for restorative justice in BIPOC communities. All of this directly impacts mental health, and has us continuing to remind ourselves of how important self-care is.

The New Year often represents reflection of this past calendar year, coupled with goals, dreams, and hopes for what is to come. But with this year that we have, how is 2021 really going to be? Where do we go from here? Can we even plan for anything?!

The only thing that I am certain of is how much I don’t know. This is not only a mantra that I have come to peace with personally, but it is also how I often see the lived experiences of my clients. Even with my fancy continuing education training and letters behind my name, I come at peace with not knowing all of the answers. My role as a therapist is to be with my clients side-by-side on their journey through coping and emotional processing, learning alongside them, especially in a year when there are so many unknowns.

To return back to this quote by Leslie Dwight. What if through this uncertainty, this discomfort, we learn to grow, to lean in, to be more connected with one another? In fact, discomfort often needs to happen in an effort to fully change. As we move through the end of 2020, I don’t have answers, but I do have some questions for you to reflect on, to provide a space for hope, and even for your acknowledgment of your own resilience:
What were some new experiences that at this point feel like second nature? For some, perhaps this answer (and is personally my answer) is to finally be one with technology, especially in trying to make connections with folx virtually. Maybe for others, it is more about wearing a mask regularly in the workplace. Whatever it is, identify it, and have space to acknowledge your own ability to adapt.