Twenty for ’21

Yes, it has only been one calendar year. Although the past twelve months may have felt like twelve years, the earth has only completed a single orbit around the sun. In recognition of the continuing ability of interplanetary dynamics to maintain a semblance of cosmic order amidst the chaos of terrestrial life, a top twenty (rather than ten) list of personal reflections is offered below.

1. Put to positive use, human intellect can accomplish much.
2. Put to poor use, human intellect can destabilize a planet and everything that seeks to thrive and survive on that planet.
3. Pandemics require redirection of resources and recommitment to core values. A species blessed with intellect that cannot agree on its core values can find itself in real trouble during a pandemic.
4. There are good people in the world – lots of them. But a few bad actors crooning seductive siren songs can really disrupt those good people’s ability to sing in harmony – routinely.
5. There is too much data in our world and not enough wisdom.
6. It helps to be reminded by people who have died just how precious life is. This year I heard the 1993 urging by former basketball coach and passionate human being Jimmy Valvano to “laugh, think, and cry each day” replayed on sports TV and recited by a religious leader. The surprising alignment of church and state made me laugh, think, and cry.
7. Morning sunshine warms all upturned faces, no matter how cold the night.
8. For all our bragging, we really don’t know very much. Take the basic question of how and why life came to be, or the question of what happens after it ceases to be. We remain clueless in these areas. The nature of things may be for us to be clueless in these areas.
9. A person’s feet gradually reshape themselves over time. What begin as beautiful baby phalanges became gnarled senior roots as someone ages. Shoes with wider toe boxes bring comfort, despite their unflattering appearance.
10. You meet the most amazing people when you volunteer to stand in a stadium parking lot and help thousands of people receive a vaccine. Imagine what the world might be like if we routinely planned such large scale displays of humanity for food, clothing, or other basic needs.
11. Life has an incredible ability to heal.
12. Not all individual life forms heal; many suffer through a healing process only to die. Some simply die. A magnificent flowering vine in my backyard did that last year. So did millions of beautiful human beings and a myriad of other animals, plants, and unique embodiments of spirit. We should grieve all such loss.
13. Grief, like ritual, is vital to life yet woefully misunderstood.
14. The older I become, the less I know. Despite this reality, and in the face of confronting change such as shoes with wider toe boxes, I enjoy aging.
15. Sleep, a hug from a friend, a smile from a stranger, and a kind word from anyone are all under-rated.
16. The present is an elusive concept. Everyone reminds me to live in it yet all do so from outside it.
17. It is invigorating to reconnect with people we have known in previous portions of our lives. It can be enlightening to connect with people we have only recently met. People of both types have real insight and wisdom, especially when they aren’t trying to have insight and wisdom.
18. We need each other. Our planet, and the solar system in which it orbits, need us to need each other.
19. There is more to our world and existence than our intellect can perceive. Humility can bring peace, inspiration, and comfort.
20. Kneeling by my bed each night is an acknowledgement of my individual inadequacy and an expression of my abiding hope. The habit of doing so was perhaps my greatest learning from the year 2021.

May 2022 bring you peace and your own wealth of reflection and learning.