So with 2020 coming into your rear vision mirror......what did you take away from it?

[El Presidente]

Without putting too finer point on it.....what a crap year 

We all know of friends/family who have done it incredibly tough this year. Illness, separation/loneliness, loss of livelihoods, anxiety/depression. The media circus only added to the insanity. We know it hasn't finished yet. 

If you are anything like me, the whole concept of government enforced restrictions just grate on your psyche.  You do it for the sake of the community and for all the mum's and dads, grandma's and granddad's. 

I have seen mates lose everything. I watch pilots stack shelves at  woolworths. 

This time last year they were all settling down for a great Christmas and brimming with confidence to 2020. 

So what can you take away from a year like this?

Personally I have struggled at different times. I miss my friends interstate and overseas. I never realised how much I would do so. 2020 in many ways focused the fact that:

•  we are all mortal
• control is a fragile concept
• friends and family are paramount
• there is a lot  to be said for practicing equanimity

During the really tough days in April/May, the FOH Zoom channel got a hell of a workout. I think I got as much out of it as anyone. In many ways it kept us sane and in good humour.  You are a tremendous crew. 

Let us know what you will take away from 2020 

 

 

 

[Chibearsv]

Sadly, this year cemented how far from “common sense” we are as a society. Social media and internet rabbit holes created by algorithms just keep pulling people away from the center of seemingly any reasonable discussions and move people towards the fringe extremes. There used to be a theory in law called the reasonable man. I’m afraid it’s getting harder to decide what a reasonable man would do in tough circumstances.  The farther apart we all get, the harder it is to make compromise or concession. I’m still willing to learn and admit when I think I’m wrong but I don’t witness that happening too much anywhere else.  Could be because we got our information mostly from some version of media this year instead of actual life experience due to being shut down. I need friendly argument and conversation with different people regularly to stay sane and sadly, the pandemic shrunk my universe. I look forward to dinner out with friends at a table for twenty to laugh and tease each other more than anything else right now. Bring on the vaccine and let’s kill this thing. 

[MrBirdman]

Rob I couldn’t put it any better, and would only add that not just control, but our very reality itself is fragile. 

[ReelMan]

The times that we live in have a material effect on our psyche, yes, but we need to separate that from the Greater Good that is being affected: job loss, sickness and, for many, passing.  What I take away from this year is that my "happiness" is immaterial.  What has turned out to be most important is helping others.  I find that service to others covers all my personal needs now.

[benfica_77]

Biggest take aways were the following: 

- Pandemic was like water in a crack it exposes and amplifies issues in your foundation of life...be it work, relationships etc. Value my  

- The more I focus on my 4 pillars of health (8+ Hours of Sleep + Working out 5 days a week + Meditate 5 days week + Eat Healthy) the more i'm mentally resilient to handle the challenges brought on by covid and life in general 

- I can plan everything to an absolute degree but there's thing in life I can't take into consideration and plan like a pandemic 

- I miss travelling and experience things outside of my apartment / city 

- The fear of losing loved ones makes me more keenly aware the life is finite and not take anyone I love for granted 

- How lucky I am that job isn't impacted by covid and I can work from home even though I'm not happy with the toxic team I work on

- How much I appreciate going to the gym 

- Stop worrying it will kill me in the long run, reading about covid news doesn't change anything and fuels my anxiety. Be more present. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.

- Enjoying to read more and learning to put away electronic devices during that time is very healthy for me

- How lucky I am to have married the right person and living in such close quarters for long periods of time and I don't want to strangle her lol 

- Should have purchased more cigars before the pandemic lol 

[fungi]

These two things have been instrumental in navigating an otherwise terrible year. For me though, these two things have come with age, I don't think I would have been as resilient to a year like this if it had struck in my 20's

1. Power of positive thinking
2. Control what you can and let go of what you can't

 

[Chas.Alpha]

I have thought about posting on this topic for the last 15 minutes. I do not believe that I can offer anything that won’t become a political discussion. What I take away from 2020 is that this is a world divided. I feel that the “West’s” view that we are the moral compass has been destroyed. I think that when great challenges face our world leaders, it becomes easy for us ordinary citizens to look for an authoritative government. I have more than 250 mates a day that work on my construction project, a couple of dozen contracted COVID-19. More than a few are having ongoing health problems. It wasn’t a joke. It wasn’t a hoax.

The MSU ‘19’s were the bomb!

Yeah, John is probably going to Censor this post!

I love my FOH Brother/Sisterhood!!!

You kept me sane...?

[ReelMan]

Chas-

We all have to put down our swords; if we do, we will no longer be divided.

An authoritative and trustworthy government is not my concern, however.  But I can control what I think and offer to others.

[treberty]

I share a lot that has already been said.

I would say that the only silver lining in 2020 is that a lot of people realized that they were living for their work instead of working to afford living a happy life.

We hopefully all learned to slow down a little- it's all relative to how fast-paced each individual's life was pre-Covid.

Buying local will also remain,  imo.

The role of technology in our daily lives will change the very foundations of our economies forever, or at least until the next major crisis.

Necessity is the mother of all inventions: who would have thought a year ago that effective vaccines could be developed within a year? 

Yes, 2020 sucked. But it also proved that if we really put our minds to it we can resolve a shit ton of problems very quickly. This is encouraging for the future. Hopefully nations will work together more going forward.  Perhaps I am too optimistic though. ?

[Hammer Smokin']

I lost a lot of faith in humanity this year. 

 

[asmazda]

15 minutes ago, Hammer Smokin' said:

I lost a lot of faith in humanity this year. 

 

Me too!  

[CaptainQuintero]

  I think I agree with everything posted so far; the real fragility of life, the bright souls holding back against a tide of self, the importance of family and living as best you can, the utter failure of education, the genius that keeps driving forward, the absolute heros who walk hidden amongst us, the amount of lost people who have forgotten about what's important in life, the magic of human contact, how much of our modern lives is skin deep, the incredible inner strength of people you never fully realised

  It's been a shotgun blast of good, bad, horrible, beautiful. 

  I think it will be a while before I can pull some kind of sense out of it for myself. I think the best thing for humanity might be for the internet to be switched off right now, I'm not 100% sure but I don't think the benefit outweighs the negative. Maybe it's just a magnifying glass on ourselves and not the actual problem.

  It will be a golden age for getting into being a therapist in the new few years

  I'm still as confused as ever 

[Akd313]

Life is what you make of it! Cherish the moments and reminisce fondly on the opportunities we had before all of this. Moving forward, I think it puts life into focus a bit clearer- love life and the people who put a smile on your face!

[Paladin865]

The three things that got me through 2020 so far.

1 My faith 

2 Prayer    

3 A good cigar at the end of the day with good friends 

 

 

 

 

[Meklown]

I struggle to think of a single government that got through the year better looking that it did at the start. I still dislike politicians and politics.

Reinforced my opinions about humanity sucking

Positive thinking is important

I miss traveling

So proud of my sister and other medical personnel around the world. Those who got into the profession simply for the money got found out this year really quickly.

[RedLantern]

Highlighted the importance of support networks (not just one person) - everyone has struggled during this time, and it's valuable to have numerous people to talk to for support, because if it's only person, they might be full-up with their own dealings that day.

Proud of my personal growth - supporting others emotionally has never been a strength of mine, but this crisis has really pushed me to expand my leadership capabilities as a husband, father, and all around paterfamilias. 

[cmbarton]

If folks come out of this year with a greater appreciation for relationships, the fragile and fleeting gift of each day of life, and all the small moments that we once overlooked ...

... 2020 will be the greatest year of our lives.

[Ej456]

I realized I’m a pea in the ocean 

[mprach024]

Great posts so far.  I think @Chibearsvreally hit the nail on the head.  Between elections, Covid, vaccines I’ve never seen the world so disrespectful to each other and so divided.  Disagreements are no longer conversations or even debates but are a social war.  Doesn’t matter the topic, people are taking sides on everything. 
 

My takeaways have been:

- I need to work on my mid/long irons more next year.

- best quality tobacco from Cuba I’ve seen in 10 years.

- I will never take for granted my daily pleasures again, going to happy hour, going to dinner, taking a vacation

- People can be resilient, people can be very funny, but for the most part people can suck

[La_Tigre]

Outside of the agreed upon spiritual and societal implications everyone seemed to have my proxy on previously in this discussion....

It’s hella harder to take off pandemic weight than it is to put on while staying away from everyone.

Working for both of us in hospital really sucks....

[Capt. Corona]

We both here consider ourselves, our lives, very, very fortunate in 2020 with all that has taken place. We both have worked from our home before all of the crap hit the fan.  Other than a few inconveniences that have changed our lifestyles we have continued to do our best to stay in a positive frame of mind.  My partner in crime has been the best source of making sure I don't veer too far either way.  The one thing I have learned the most is to dislike the media and not trust what is being read anymore thru any news outlet.  It's a sad state of world affairs when the media has taken advantage of this pandemic situation and they view it as an opportunity to control and sway the masses more than they ever have in the past.  Or maybe it's always been that way and it has now just been brought more to the forefront of my attention span.  We've lost and we've gained.  Some, a hell of a lot more than we have.

My thoughts and prayers go out mostly to those on the front lines in the battle, in the war, being fought against this horrific virus disease.  We/they will prevail!  Thank you for your efforts.

 

 

 

 

[djrey]

My takeaways:

My trust in government is the lowest it has ever been 

My trust in the media is the lowest it has ever been

My trust is big business/tech is the lowest it has ever been

My relationships with friends and family are the best they have been

My relationship with myself, mental and physical well being and mental fortitude is the strongest it has ever been

Enjoy the small things

Appreciate today but prepare for tomorrow

Self reliance is more important than ever 

The right of the individual has never been more important yet so compromised

Never let fear control you

Cigars make life better in every way

 

 

[dominattorney]

I learned many things. I was blessed to have left my government job in summer 2019 and started a private law practice. Somehow, we flourished in 2020 and I made enough money to pay off my student loans, which were more than 250k. I sat in amazement as my partner and I racked up success after success. My wife struggled working from home with the isolation, and the juxtaposition was stark. Thats to say nothing of my greater friends circle. I had some real close buddies struggle immensely financially. It got to the point where I couldn't justify keeping my success to myself, and felt compelled to make several loans to friends with struggling businesses. Really drove home for me the concept that no man is an island. I realized that my own financial success was measured less in what the money could do for myself personally than in what it enabled me to be able to do for the people I cared about.

My favorite coffee shop kept me company through some hard times, giving me a table, wifi connection and an ashtray when I didn't have an office. Now it was able to remain open based in part on a loan I was able to provide thr owner. My old neighborhood gym was able to pay some wages to employees during the lockdown. I may never get paid back on the loans I made, and I still owe the government for my student loans, but I feel far more content than I think I would have had I hoarded it all for myself. I feel better than I would have felt if I kept drawing my old government salary as well. That would have let me stay at my old level, but would not have provided the liquidity to help my circle in need. 

The biggest surprise was that had yoy told me hypothetically a year ago that I'd have enough coin to either clear my debts or help 5 close friends, I would have struggled with the choice. When push came to shove the choice was easy and I simply knew what the right thing was to do. 

I write this not to toot my own horn. I have noticed that this is not a novel mindset. Numerous other individuals I know who have prospered during this time have generously opened their homes and their check books to help out people who were in more fragile industries. IMHO this was the silver lining of the otherwise tragic year of 2020. Relationships are all that matter at the end of the day. Our society with its trappings is more fragile than it seems in the best of times, but it will crumble in an instant if we don't keep the foundation in tact, which is predicated on human beings interacting with one another in the spirit of good will. That is all that is really worth saving. 

[Ryan]

I forgot who said this originally, I wish it was me but it wasn't.

In a crisis, good people get better and bad people get worse.

This has been driven home to me, especially recently.

[helix]

In the rear view mirror and hammer down.