Why want what we already have?

What a glorious year we have had. All of us. Yes, glorious if we choose to look at it that way.

The glorious part? For the first time in our memory, the world has shared an experience that affected us equally.

But the living of it and its aftermath have been different for each of us. That’s what we need to address. Not alone. Together.

Now that the end is in sight, we need to ask ourselves, did we learn anything?

It’s tempting only to ask if the world, our leaders, our neighbors, our family learned anything, but that won’t help much.

We are the ones who need to have learned from this experience because only then can this year make a lasting difference. As always, it’s our thoughts and beliefs that produce the result.

No one has escaped the mess.

It’s been confusing, painful, and sad. It’s also been enlightening. And if we allow it to be, transforming.

My everyday life changed very little. I work from home, and Del works from home and in the woods. I stopped going to Starbucks to write but discovered that if I write on a different computer and room than my “work” computer and office, it felt the same as leaving the house. Better even. I had more time.

Instead of buying things, I used up stuff I had, or gave it away, or threw it away. My closet is half full. My life is lighter. I missed a few in-person conferences and family gatherings, and I am looking forward to attending them again, but zoom was almost as good.

But others have not had it as easy. They have lost jobs, homes, and people they love. People like teachers, the people who deliver our mail and packages, health care workers, and volunteers everywhere who have been on the front lines need our help and support.

How can we most help those in need? By celebrating what we already have and then sharing it.

It will be different for each of us. Not everyone has extra funds to share or the ability to take care of people directly, but each of us has a talent and a gift that we can put to good use. Behind the scenes, or in public. Whatever way is your way.

In this season of giving, what can we give?

Start with good spirits. Resist the urge to separate. Find a way to unite in the spirit of omnipresent Good. Rise out of apathy, anger, or despair.

Ask for help when you need it. Give what you can when asked. Anticipate a need and supply it.

This will be over soon, but we will all feel the after-effect for a long time. Can we turn those after-effects into a positive force?

What if each of us decides to be more present, more helpful, kinder, less responsive to negative words and circumstances that threaten to overwhelm us?

If we learn to want what we have, then we have more to give.

Then the year 2020 will have focused us towards the good, and that will illuminate solutions. We will all have a 2020 vision because we will have learned to see more clearly what’s important.

It was the year that forced us all to rethink priorities.

Because that’s the principal message here, isn’t it? We are in it together. Our country versus their country doesn’t count anymore.

It’s one world. That’s what we are learning. Some people don’t know that yet. We can help by remembering that it is and acting that way.

In nature, there are no boundaries, no country lines, or borders. This is the truth of who we are. One. And now, each of us is more aware of this than we were before. That is something to be joyful about, isn’t it?

Thank you for all that you do to express your true spiritual nature.

You are a light unto the world and thank you for choosing to want what you have and then sharing it.

Learn more about the idea of choosing what you already have here: Hidden Brain: Minimizing Pain-Maximizing Joy