As we begin this year it is common to claim our own New Years resolutions but I would suggest we pulse for a moment. Maybe this time we don't have to evaluate so quickly. Don't get me wrong I am all for growth and being intentional about who we are and who we want to be in the world but today, as we have crossed the threshold of another year I am feeling just how many arrows we all have taken this past year.
How many times others thought that they got a say in how you lived your life and wasn't shy about telling you? They thought they got a say in if you were vaccinated or not. They made judgements about who you were by who you voted for (even if they didn't "really" know who you voted for). They attacked your character when you didn't use the right pronouns? They judged you by what side of the "kids in school" debate you landed on and by the pictures you posted that showed you out with other people. How many tragedies did we witness or hear about in person, on social media, or in/on the news? These are all arrows. How many acts of violence did we watch on tv, at the movies, or in our own communities? These are arrows too.
We have taken a lot of hits this past year. How much kindness does it take to counter even just some of that?
In the video below my Sister/Friend Barbara McAfee sings her song What if. In the song she asks, "What if all this striving to be my best was just self hatred in a fancy dress?" The day I heard that it stopped me in my tracks, as a matter of fact I screamed out loud!
What if we gave ourselves a break? What if we didn't continue to beat ourselves up where the world left off? What if we skipped the resolutions for this year? What If?
Quanita