It’s been quite a year, hasn’t it?

A pandemic hit the globe and we are all still struggling to deal with it and accept that this is how life will be for the foreseeable. It’s made life difficult in situations that are already hard to endure. Some of us have lost people we care about and have had to mourn alone, without the comfort of our friends and families. Some of us have postponed important and much anticipated special gatherings, like weddings. Some of us struggle to make ends meet because our workplaces have reduced hours or closed altogether because of the restrictions placed upon us. Some of us have wrestled with major health issues on our own because the pandemic has made it so our support people cannot attend the hospital or doctor’s appointments with us. It’s been a year of new hassles and hardships and we have mourned our former lives and begun to accept as normal, this life that looks so different than it once did. The weight of the pandemic is still there on everyone’s shoulders and mind, but we have, for the most part, found a place of acceptance of it.

We have all felt the pain of separation from those we would love to be with, those outside our tiny social circles. But in that isolation from the world, there have been good things that have come out of it. Some of us have cleaner houses than ever (not mine, but I’ve heard it’s happened!). Some of us have taken up old hobbies or learned a new one. Apparently, bread making has made such a huge comeback that it’s still tricky to find yeast at the grocery stores. We have realized more starkly that relationships are important and have made the effort to stay connected to those we care about. And many of us have sat in the silence and realized that, even with a global pandemic going on, we still have much to be grateful for.

If we are lucky, we have our health, we live with our significant other or children, and working from home was a viable option so we still have gainful employment. We’ve been able to enjoy our homes more fully than in the past, and we ought to be grateful for that. Even though we aren’t supposed to go out and gather with our friends, technology has made it so that we can stay connected via phone, text, video chatting and the like. We still have our fur babies who love us and make us smile. We still have hope for better days ahead. The bright spots are there to behold if we train our eyes to see them. They are like beacons of light against the backdrop of a unsettled and struggling world.

Find your bright spots. Appreciate them and enjoy the good you still have in your life. We can look forward to better days ahead, but don’t forget to embrace the good that is sitting right in front of you. Don’t forget to smile today!