Lessons Learned
Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn whatever state I am in, therein to be content.
Helen Keller
What a year we’ve had! And oh, how much we’ve learned.
Our world moves forward and life goes on. It’s changed and we’ve changed. We’ve grown.
Vaccines are becoming more widely available, and people are beginning to reemerge from their year-long retreat. This is a moment to pause and reflect.
What have you come to know? What stories are worth sharing? Responses will be as different as lived experiences.
Think back to pre-pandemic. It seems like so long ago. For many the frantic pace at which we were running could not be sustained – by us or our planet.
It was time to recalibrate.
And so the pendulum swung back. Adjusting. Bringing better balance to life, offering more clarity and intention. Slowing things down. Getting us back to the essentials. Letting go of old ways that do not serve the greater good.
The pandemic touched us all differently.
For far too many it brought uncertainty, pain and loss. The sum of which cannot be measured or fully understood beyond the individual journey, our collective response and the stories shared.
It also brought good things. Like the gift of more time. More love and appreciation. More expansion of our human spirit. More creativity and ingenuity and innovation.
Environmental changes have been pronounced. We now enjoy cleaner air. Carbon emissions are down, as is noise pollution. And water quality is improving.
Zoom was a welcome game changer for me. It brought opportunities to attend virtual workshops that had previously been only offered in person at far off locations. It kept me connected with family and friends. We could be face to face, even if not in person. It took the edge off of missing community and missing work.
The pandemic also sent us inside. Literally and figuratively.
I remember a morning walk last spring, on the first day that Iowa’s restrictions were in place. At some point, in the middle of the woods, I stopped cold. A profound and pronounced silence hit like a brick wall. The buzz of life had stopped. No one else was on the trail. No cars or trucks in the distant background. Not even the wind blew. I stood in awe of what absolute silence sounds like.
Silence and solitude have since been amazing gifts. And they’ve helped me realize some top takeaways from this year of (relative) isolation:
Too much news is bad news.
Turn off the noise.
Savor the sound of silence.
My inner voice has great guidance. It comes from love.
I’m grateful for my health.
The outdoors and nature provide a pretty awesome gym.
It’s the small things that add up!
There is hope.
Joy bubbles up from the inside, and can sneak up on me.
Love begets more love.
Forgiveness brings peace.
This instant is all there is.
Today I’m much more likely to escape the bustle and enjoy the quiet. It helps me be at peace and integrate lessons into a much simpler life.
Which is what I’d so badly wanted pre-pandemic but had found so elusive.
It hasn’t been an easy year. Human resilience has starred front and center. The pandemic has forced us to adjust our lives, how we live and work. Transformations have occurred across the board, for all of us. We have our stories and growth marks to show for it.
As you voyage-out into the new and changed world, ask yourself: What lessons have I learned? What discoveries have I made? What grace have I witnessed or received?
You might get some paper and quickly jot them down, without too much thought. Just write.
Then look at your list. And in the silence, appreciate how your own pendulum has swung.
