The window to the soul isn’t made with glass that breaks. It’s created with compassion, the healer of heartache. Angie Welland-Creaty
I’m not sure about you, but I have read plenty of ‘2020 no more’ or ‘2020…is it over yet?’ How many memes have we seen that express our feelings of the past year?
Our struggles
No doubt, there is more than enough Covid info to reflect upon from 2020. Illness and isolation is overwhelming. The impact on livelihoods, businesses, and the economy has crushed many. Struggling health care workers and hospitals trying to keep up are emotionally and physically exhausted. But there are also incredible stories survival, of incredible resilience, and unselfish responses to a humanity in need.
Our personal experience
For some, the effect on daily life this past year pales in consideration to what has been personally experienced. How many reading this post may have been ill, have witnessed or cared for sick family members or friends? And the most tragic of all, the loss of a loved one. Yes, 2020 has been like no other.
Because of this, I do not have any right to share a personal litany of reflections about 2020. It would be much too narrow minded. I cannot do justice to the personal experiences of millions of Americans and others around the world who have personally experienced the effects of Covid.
Looking forward while looking back
Rather, I carry in my heart and mind the endless displays of humanity that have been shared via the media this past year. Listed below are just a few. Watch and read, smile and be heartened by the good that continues to rise above even the darkest of days.
The many hands our health care providers have held and smiles shared through the tears:
https://protecthealthcare.org/latest/covid-inspiring-stories
The signs held, music played, and voices singing to faces behind paned windows:
Busy hands and bodies packing and distributing food to those in need:
https://2-harvest.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/COVID-19-report-print-in-house.pdf
Restaurants and workers serving and delivering dinners to those on the front lines:
And, international stories of hope and resilence:
https://www.apa.org/international/global-insights/stories-pandemic