It's alsmost the end of 2020 and I'm grateful for...
2019 saw me collapsed in a literal and metaphorical heap on a few occasions and 2020 was, well, it was 2020… so writing a post about gratitude in 2020 might seem strange. I’m not bypassing (aka putting sprinkles on a pile of poo and pretending it’s ice cream) and no, this isn’t about how grateful I am that 2020 is almost over!
I’ve been learning to sit with and feel a lot of my feelings these last few years. Sure I’ve buffered and distracted myself a few times too but nowhere near as much as I would have done a few years ago.
This year I’ve been grateful for the small things.
I’ve learnt a lot this year, including to be grateful for the small things. So, here (in no particular order) are some of the things I’m grateful for in 2020:
- My health, my body & fitness
- Good habits
- Having cultivated a deep love of fitness over the past 20 years
- Family & Friendships
- Therapy
- Being passionate about my work (both my “employed work” and my “passion work”)
- Opportunity
- Possibility
- Living in a country with healthcare
- Feeling the breeze on my face
Having a roof over my head I got laid off from my day job in June but I still have somewhere to live and for that I am grateful.
My bicycle When the gyms were shut for months on end I found myself cycling a lot. I went around and around and around the same loop / circuit for months but honestly, I was glad to.
Friendship I have friends scattered across the globe and although I don’t always get to talk to many of them as much as I’d like I’m grateful for just knowing they are there.
Learning & unlearning I’ve learnt, and unlearnt, a lot this year. I’ve learnt about the land I live on (Wurundjeri & Boon Wurrung land) and about the Aboriginal people who are the custodians and traditional owners of this patch of land we call “Australia”. I’ve learnt more about feminism and intersectionality and whiteness as a system. I’ve learnt more about some of the the inequalities and injustices of this world that we all live in. I’m unlearning a lot too.
I’ve learnt about myself, that I’m so much more resilient now than I was 12-18 months ago. I’ve learnt how to record, edit and sound edit movie files, how to do a bunch of back-end website things and how to add closed captions in YouTube. (I did not learn how to make sourdough.)
Creativity The plus side to loosing my day job meant that I had time to dive into my creativity. I’ve created things for Breathwork and Design Thinking and even written a few articles. I’m grateful for my creative mind and for a “let’s give it a try and see what happens. If it goes really wrong, I’ll just delete it” mindset.
“… And I’d like to thank myself.”
Finally, I’m grateful to me. I’ve been a little bit amazing this year just quietly. I’ve stuck by myself more solidly than ever before. I’ve lived more consistently and more intentionally than ever before and for that, for all of that, I’m grateful.
Journal prompts
- Something you’re grateful for that’s obvious
- Something you’re grateful for that’s easy
- Something you’re grateful for that’s hard
