December 27, 2020: 2020-The Ride of Our Lives
2020 was a rollercoaster ride whose twists and turns impacted our lives in unprecedented ways; taking us on a journey into unfamiliar and sometimes terrifying places. Although the United States continues to face major challenges with the economy, the political arena and in social unrest due to racism; the pandemic altered the way we act worldwide, challenging our perceptions, forcing unexpected life style changes and even producing evolutions in our language.
Our language system reflects how we interpret the world around us and its evolution reflects the changes we encounter. I recently listened to a discussion on NPR https://www.npr.org/transcripts/950476658 . The participants were reflecting on how the pandemic has changed so many aspects in our lives, including our language.
This year, the word chosen annually by the American Dialect’s Society to represent the year was Covid. The other words considered were ones that reflected changes in our behavior: social distancing, doom scrolling (searching social media for bad news), Zoom, and even 2020, which an acquaintance recently described as the “new four letter word”.
“ Bad times have a scientific value. These are occasions a good learner would not miss.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
Yet, 2020 also inspired a burst of creativity and ingenuity in how we’ve adapted and adjusted to our new life styles. By necessity, we’ve had to modify our expectations, and accepted the changes we’ve needed to implement in order to stay healthy and safe. We’ve learned what we can “do without” and how to “make do” with what we already own. We’ve also come to recognize the critical and inherent need for human contact. Out of necessity, we’ve learned how to minimize our engagements in the “outside world”, but also how to both encourage and maintain healthy contact with family and friends. We’ve created new ways to celebrate special events like birthdays, weddings and even memorials for a loved one’s life. The physical sensation of hugging a loved one is one I will never again take for granted.
In looking back on 2020 and ahead to 2021, I like to think that there are other, more positive words to reflect the light in our lives: beauty, compassion, communication, curiousity, creativity, family, friendships, joy, love, perseverance, support, tolerance and wonder. These are the words whose simple presence in our lives, can bring us out of a free fall of despair and back up into the light of hope and optimism.
Thank you as always for reading this blog. We welcome any thoughts you have, meaningful quotes or words to inspire. Please feel free to share it with someone who might find it meaningful.