Hard to associate 2020 with thankfulness, right? Maybe at first, but on a closer look, we have plenty of reasons to appreciate the lessons we learned the hard way this year. Here are some that came across our minds:
Family, with all their quirks and peculiarities
Family, especially during the holidays can be a source of stress. And all the same time, family is your greatest gift. Even when they’re overbearing, you still know they are the place where you get unconditional love and support, where you’ll always find a pair of ears ready to listen and a soul ready to calm you down and make all your worries vanish.
Appreciating the little things in life
Dr. Glenn Williams, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Nottingham Trent University said: “An effective route to happiness is not necessarily through experiencing major events that we might have planned out such as getting married, moving house, getting that all-important promotion, or even being on a holiday. Rather it is the small, and often unexpected, pleasures in life that can make us smile each and every day to help us build happier and more meaningful lives for ourselves and for others.” And we had plenty of opportunities to discover joy and happiness in having a laid back weekend or a chill breakfast or a glass of wine over a video call…
Maybe for the first time ever, time wasn’t an issue anymore
Remember how we used to complain about not having enough time? Oh, well, the pandemic stroke and we had to spend more time than ever in our homes. For those of us who live with families, this was a sweet time we’ll never forget. We spent extra time with our spouses and children, savoring every moment that we may have missed before. We can be thankful for this special time.
Thankful to be alive
That seemed such a generic concept before the pandemic. We were so caught up in our daily struggles that we took health for granted. Our health, but also our loved ones’. This year was eye opening, from this perspective. We appreciated more every day our families were healthy, every night we went to sleep knowing that we are lucky enough to have our loved ones safe and sound.
Yes, it was a challenging year and it’s not over yet, but maybe we can keep those things we came to appreciate and made us more thankful. So, how about keeping for 2021 a daily habit of gratitude and thinking about the things we are thankful for in life?
