Evolving In 2022 for the Better!

This week we find ourselves closing the door on a difficult year and opening a new door into a great unknown. What will 2022 bring? None of us knows, and I’m not going to make any grand predictions. But there are some things I do know as we ring in the New Year.

I know that we have more power to deal with COVID-19 than we’ve had since it started. While none of us know what the pandemic will bring this year, our arsenal for dealing with it has improved dramatically. We are armed with more and better tools and resources than ever, from vaccines to newly approved treatments, and I am confident that we will continue to equip ourselves with newer, better tools throughout the year.

I also know that one of the greatest powers we have together is the ability to show each other grace.?Each new year I am reminded of how blessed I am to be surrounded by the family, colleagues, and community that I am. 2020 and 2021 were devastating years of loss for many of us, but it is a balm to know that I am not and have never been alone in facing the trials these years brought. None of us have been, although it can be all too easy to feel isolated from others right now.

In that vein, I said something in my holiday message a week ago that I want to expand on here. I said, “I am praying for all of you to have your burdens lifted and your hearts lightened.” While this is a prayer for God or whatever higher power you believe in to do for us, it is also something we can do for each other. Often, the strife we experience is a choice we make, not an inevitability. For myself, I am resolved to choose grace, compassion, and empathy in 2022, even when I am tempted to anger or fear. I hope you will join me in this resolution, and my New Year’s wish for all of us is that 2022 will bring more peace, more comfort, and more grace than we’ve known in the past year.

Happy New Year, and God bless.