It is so easy to get overwhelmed on a normal day. In 2020, it is more than easy to become overwhelmed, in fact, it is something many people are struggling with. I am. There are days when I do not want to get dressed. There are days I binge watch tv, just so I don’t have to think about what I should be doing. Sometimes I get the courage to walk away from the news updates, the fear, the worry, and I do something. It can be anything. These days getting anything accomplished can be everything.

Why did I say that it takes courage? It is the truth. It is hard not to get wrapped up in political views, medical news, and daily numbers.  The coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, feels like it has had enough momentum to stop the world from spinning. We have gone through lockdowns, daily news briefings from leaders of our respective countries, a US Presidential election, and now we learn that there will be a vaccine available, starting next week, here in Canada. It is already in the UK and will need special care to transport it to all the continents around our world.

The world is still spinning, and we are often stuck in place as things happen around us. Right now, it is okay to feel overwhelmed. With the Christmas season approaching, there would be feelings of depression and anxiety for many people. This year it is going to be worse for even more. Those who have suffered a loss in 2020 may feel like it is a slap in the face with all that is happening around us. I have struggled with my emotions during the holidays for as long as I can remember. Not the way others do, but with my own issues.

As a child, I would be so excited about Christmas morning. We would open our stockings and then wait for our parents to get up. After they were up, we would get to open the presents under the tree. Then we would go to visit our grandparents and open presents again when we arrived at each of their houses. I can remember sneaking off after we had opened the last of the presents to find a quiet place to cry. My mother would send my sisters to find me, and they would. When they found me, it would concern them, because I was crying. It was so hard to explain my feelings to them back then. Now, I can see a little more clearly and I realize that it was a release for me. I would be so hyped up for the presents and the fun that I would be internally shattered when it was all over. It would be another year before I could experience all the joy and excitement of Christmas. To me, as a child, it was magical. The second it was over, it would disappoint me so deeply because it was over.

I was and will always be grateful for the memories of with family around the holidays. This year, it is all I have to hold on to.

Amid all the turmoil surrounding our planet, life has to go on. It looks different from a year ago, and we hope it looks better a year from now. What makes me incredibly sad is how humanity is falling apart at the seams. There are riots for equality happening, which sadly is nothing new. My eyes are open and with them my ears and heart. I want to fix things, and it is simply impossible for me to make everything better. I don’t know how, because I truly did not know how bad things are. Being oblivious to a problem does not make it go away. Adding fuel to a fire does not stop the flames. Creating a path away from the inferno does not stop the source of the raging fire, in fact, it will spread to do more damage. Here is the kicker. Humanity is the source of both the problem and the solution.

It baffles me that people are out there, creating issues for people to fight about. Issues that could be fake news are causing people to question whether something is real. There have been some legitimate eye-openers in 2020, yet some people are turning a blind eye to what matters and choosing to fight about things that don’t. In the grand scheme of things, we need to pull together to help each other to just get through this challenging and devastating year. It tears me apart inside to watch what is happening outside the safety of my home, to see so much suffering and pain.

There are two things I want you to think about after reading this article. The first one is that we still have hope. There is a vaccine, and we can hope that there is enough available for everyone who needs it, and then some for everyone who wants it. It is too late for those who have succumbed to Covid-19, and others who have fought and survived COVID-19 will not need it if they have built up their own antibodies in their own immune system. I do not know if there will be a way to vaccinate every person on the planet against COVID-19. I can hope that it is as good as they predict it is, and that there will be enough to go around.

The second relates to my story about my childhood feelings I experienced at Christmas. We are on the verge of a new year, and while most of the people I know have suffered in 2020, they just want it to be over. I get it. Believe me, I do. With a new year dangling just out of reach, so many people I know are holding on to the dream of 2021 being a much better year than 2020 was. Truthfully, it could go either way. If you are holding onto 2021 as your only way to survive 2020, you may feel as I described above a week into January or February. Maybe it will be in March, at the one year anniversary of this whole 2020 experience that things come crashing down around you. If you are in this position next year, there are a couple of things I want you to hold close to your heart.

You are still here and there is always hope.

Cry, vent, scream, get the negativity out of your system. We need to release those feelings or they will fester and make us sick.

Then, put yourself back together, and do something, anything, because it will be everything.