Well, that was interesting. Tragic. Heartbreaking. Painful. Difficult.
Have more people ever been happier to see a year go away? Our attitude doesn’t have to be driven by the outside world, but most times it is. The outside world provokes, persists and insists on changing the story we choose to tell ourselves.
And one reason we invented the calendar was to keep the outside world at bay as we keep track of promises and so decide what to do next, –to respond politely instead of to react without thought.
For those of you keeping track, 2021 is the product of the prime numbers 43 and 47. If you were looking for a reason to be optimistic, that’s as good as any.
I remain convinced that this pandemic will end in 2021 — we will win, but life after victory will not be a simple resumption of life as it was. Big cities, big crowds, restaurants, and bars will be much less a part of life than before. Now that businesses have figured out how to decentralise, they'll stay that way; nobody will want to keep paying big city rents.
Here’s to health, justice and peace of mind as we choose an attitude of possibility and resilience for 2021.
