What We’ve Learned
A reflection on 2020
We were forced to remain in what we longed to escape,
to face what we shied away from.
To stare it down and, for once, actually see it.
And through it, we found our resilience.
We saw the greater significance behind it all.
We came to understand that those dreams and desires weren’t canceled or dismissed — they were evolving, with us and for us.
We found there were lessons we needed to learn before they could happen.
We realized our own strength.
We embraced the uncertainty that lay before us,
recognizing it as an old friend,
a reminder that the way things unfold is not ours to control,
but ours to experience.
That the dreams we have and hold aren’t guaranteed
to play out as they do in our minds,
and thank goodness! — how boring life would be,
if we always knew what came next.
We admitted that our capacity to predict is far too limited.
Our intelligence pails in comparison
to what we cannot begin to attempt to comprehend.
Instead we came to understand our only role is to trust,
not that those dreams will one day manifest as we thought,
but as they are supposed to.
And that the desires that sparked them —
for joy, love, compassion, and connection —
aren’t an effect of achievement,
but of letting go and allowing.
Allowing things — plans, people, aspirations — to come and go, to evolve.
Allowing ourselves to adjust our course with the storms.
Knowing we also don’t need a reason to pivot, to move in a different direction, to change our minds.
As long as we follow what feels good,
what feels authentic and true,
we will end up where we are supposed to be at every turn,
and not just once we arrive.
