As murky as the origins of Thanksgiving are, I have made it my time of the year to look back on the year that was and be cognizant of the things I am grateful for. A good many are the same year after year. Health, Family, Friends, Food and a home to hold it all together.
This year the very same things take on a special meaning in light of COVID, travel restrictions and the uncertainty that hangs in the air. Outside of these things, 2020 will always be the year in which I had a book published. I have written for a long time. This is the year I realized a long cherished dream – one of holding a book with my name on the spine.
This is also the year the uncertainty had me looking for meaning outside the cosmos literally. I turned to astrology the way a moth is drawn to a lamp. In a year when rational explanations were not quite enough, I turned to the esoteric to make sense of the vagaries of life. From dabbling in it on and off, I committed to a year long pursuit of knowledge, a course in Hellenistic astrology. I have no clue if I will be able to read a birth chart at the end of the course, but I sure hope to be able to listen to astrospeak and make sense of it.
All month long, I posted on my FB feed, asking everyone the same question each morning – “What small joy will YOU savor today?” Aisha Saaed has been doing it on Twitter for ages now. It is something I look forward to. A moment of mindfulness amid the madness. It has me focusing on micro-joys, on the littlest of things that bring me happiness. Even on the bleakest of days, I have found something to write about. There is a lesson in there somewhere even if I am having trouble articulating it.
As December looms, I am surrounded by twinkling lights, thoughts of gifts and gifting. I am in that zone when I am ready to let go of the year unlike any other and embrace the year ahead.
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