2020.
Impossible to delete this year.
And it is certainly wrong to want to reject it or to pretend it didn’t count.
Perhaps it was even the year with some of the most ‘real’ days ever.
That put us in place to realize that we don’t understand everything. At all.
That we don’t have a broad knowledge as we thought.
That we command our day-to-day lives, until we don’t.
Like cultures that are only a few hundred kilometers apart react so differently to the same circumstances.
How freedom is still not granted.
How the choice of our leaders can have such an impact on the ‘luck’ of those who live and those who die.
Like so many ‘experts’ from all professions believe they know more about the preservation of human life than health professionals and scientists themselves.
How many take advantage of the calamity to accentuate fractures.
How others try to avoid or mitigate them.
That science and technology are not always as agile as we would like.
That nature manages to compel us to confine for survival.
That collectively we are stronger than individually.
That each day really counts.
That hugs cannot be postponed.
That the short term will always have more value than the long term.
That to delay resolutions is to waste time.
That we should devote much more time to those who make us feel good.
That we have a mind-boggling ability to adapt.
That not all are resilient.
That our home is (or should be) the safest space in the world.
That health professionals have 10x more energy and stamina than any high-level athlete.
That wine also tastes good during the day.
That the internet brings families together.
That millions of people continue to vote for an ignorant prejudiced.
That even during crisis there is too much futility and ignorance in social networks.
That tourism is volatile, as are businesses that hang exclusively to it.
That we should express more gratitude for the good things in our lives.
That #blacklivesmatter.
That we can always do a little more for those who have less than us.
That slowly, we live better.
Wishing that in 2021 we can be a better version of ourselves, also for others, built from this.
Image above: the amazing Jonathan MacDonald at TEDxPorto 2013