And How to See 2020 Wasn’t All Bad
I know that many of us would like to leave 2020 in the DISTANT past. As in a don’t-turn-around, I-never-want-to-speak-of-this-moment-again kind of past. But did you know there is actual science that proves recalling good memories can improve our mood? It’s brain chemistry, which is more than just nostalgia, but a chemical response in our hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis – a system that controls stress and regulates body processes – which shows positive memory recall actually lowers our stress. As we leave 2020 behind, we can all agree that we would like to leave the highest stress levels we’ve ever encountered with it.
According to this study, “…individuals with greater self-reported resiliency showed enhanced mood, despite stress exposure.”
Nature Human Behaviour ISSN 2397-3374 (online)
How does this help me kick 2020 to the curb, you ask? Well my dears, I want us to reflect on 2020 to see for yourself that it wasn’t all bad. I want us to scroll through the photos on our phone (your feed is just what you want the outer world to see – use your phone for the REAL moments you experienced.) And I want us to lean into the positive memories, resilience and progress that you made in 2020.
It will look different for each of us. For me personally, it was about the extra time we spent together baking and crafting and being outdoors. It was teaching my youngest how to ride a bike. It was the memories of at-home school, learning to give ourselves grace and reconsidering what balance looks like, being extremely grateful for the teachers who went above and beyond for our kiddos at this time. It was the acts of service, online experiences and parking lot church that we never imagined we’d have to resort to but that has brought us meaningful connection to our church family during this time. It was about starting something new, about progress in a pandemic. It was about creativity that I wasn’t sure I still had and a thrill that comes from getting words to flow in that just-right way.
For some others that I’ve witnessed, it will be about new and different experiences that came from being challenged to be ultra-creative for home school groups, scout troops and just really active on-the-go families. It will be about getting some of those big home-improvement projects tackled. It will be leaning into the extra time that you had due to a furlough or job loss, but finding peace and gratitude in the midst of that precious extra time. It will be about banding together for outdoor rallies and online activism to come together as a community for the much needed change for racial justice. It will be about reimagining our communities, our social circles, our small groups so we were still able to connect – even if it was through a text chain and inappropriate memes. It will be about being more intentional with the people we have in our lives right now, about the time we have with them each day because the ones we lost will remain with us forever, but now only in our hearts and memories.
I am not discounting all of the sadness, the grief, the loss that we faced these past 12-months. But when you reflect back on the year 2020 – whether it be today or 20 years from now – I hope you will find the moments that grew you, that strengthened you and that brought you joy. 2020 may have bent us, but we did not break. May you bring with you the strength and growth from this challenging year. Here’s to reflecting on our past and moving forward with resilience into 2021 and beyond.
