2021 - Will it really be better?

The start of a new year is always a great time to reevaluate where we are and where we are going. 2020 has been a painful year.  Many people are optimistic that 2021 will be better (I am one of them) but when we wake up tomorrow, no magic will have occurred.

We will continue the same routines and play our same role in societal systems created over the course of history. We will tell ourselves that the coronavirus or Donald Trump (or substitute in any person that you blame) is the problem and that once it/he/she is gone, the world will be safe and equitable again.  We will oversimplify people into good vs evil rather than see people as an outcome of economic system design to maintain power imbalances.  We will believe we are just one accomplishment away from happiness, only to want "one more thing" soon after momentarily becoming happy.

Most of us will not see our own human behaviors as the cause of our planetary issues, wealth imbalances and racial and other inequities. We will still believe in our inalienable right to individualism and fail to see we are only a piece of a larger system, where all is interconnected/interdependent.  We will work for and buy from companies that create the very problems we face daily as they pursue endless growth in a finite world.  We will not adjust our biases and practices and think if we just make a small donation at year end our volunteer a day at the soup kitchen, we’ve done our part. 

At some point in 2021 when the coronavirus is under control and there is new political leadership, we will become angry that our expectations were not met and we will begin “othering” people with blame, righteously claiming that we did our part and if only those others would too, we would be fine.  We will lose hope trying to combat climate change.  We will then either disconnect from the world or believe in another story that allows the world and our lives to continue on their current path, only to repeat this cycle again and again in the future. 

Or, we can decide that we've had enough of it and we can accelerate this process right now within our own heart and mind.  We can allow our 2020 pain to be a catalyst, to transform our thoughts, words, and actions.  We can be appreciative of what we have; we can lead with compassion knowing that everyone has their own struggle; we can be intentional in our actions; we can choose to buy from and work for ethical companies; and we can collaborate with one another to redesign existing socio-economic systems or design new ones that are inclusive, regenerative and equitable.  We can ask "Why" more often instead of repeating norms of the past that my be rooted in disturbing facts. We can transform ourselves, our communities, and our world.  We can make our brief time on this planet worth living and feel good about what we will leave for the future of humanity.