Well, this was a year like no other. It was shocking, painful, chaotic, confusing and disheartening. Our trust in our leaders, scientists, medical experts, police, media and other societal systems was put into question time and time again.

Our freedom was seriously curtailed. Our connection to others was severely limited. Many turned on each other as their differences became more apparent and their fear heightened. People lost their jobs, homes or, in some cases, their lives. So many lost hope – they lost hope in the future; they lost hope that they were safe; they lost hope that they could ever be healthy or happy in this world.     

Many of us had moments of feeling like we were children again, being sent to our room and told to think about what we had done. We were forced to analyze how we had been living all our prior years. We saw the ways in which we had been wasteful, the ways in which we had hurt our planet, the ways in which we had been unappreciative and the ways in which we had been hurting ourselves or others.

If I continued to live, seeing everything that has gone wrong in 2020, I would be absolutely miserable and so would those I help. It does not serve us to dwell on the negative; it never has and it never will – this year and these circumstances are no different than any other when it comes to our way of thinking.

As with every tragedy that befalls us, we must SEE the GOOD. We must SEE the LESSONS. And we must GROW from it all. Our souls come here to grow.

No one can make us stop growing, except for ourselves – NO ONE. That is a freedom no one can take away from us.

I have never suggested that others do “the work” without me doing it as well. So, I will now set the example as to how to extract the learnings and the positives from a year that caused us so much pain. Here are 20 learnings I gained in 2020: 

1. I learned to ask people to tell me what would make them feel most comfortable when it came to the precautions they needed to take in order to feel safe from contracting Covid-19, whether that entailed meeting online, wearing a mask or keeping a certain distance i.e. 3, 6 or 9 ft apart. That made me feel good inside and helped others feel comfortable in my presence.
2. When others strongly believed in concepts or people I didn’t believe in, I learned it was not my job to try to change anyone’s mind nor could I. I realized that the most I could do was let them know there is always a different viewpoint.
3. When the news and even medical science became contradictory, I learned not to trust either of them when it came to Covid-19. Instead, I focused on doing what felt right to me, by connecting with my inner self, while patiently waiting for over 9 months, so far, for the truth to be revealed and obvious to all.
4. I was able to clearly see who was filled with fear and who was not and who was dwelling on the negative and who was dwelling on the positive. I had never seen fear or a preoccupation with negativity so clearly before. I learned to be okay with however others were feeling and to help those who wanted a new perspective.
5. I got cyber bullied for the first time because my viewpoints didn’t match the way others see the world. That made me come to understand others better and become even more humble.
6. I discovered I could be happy, no matter how many freedoms were stripped from my life and how much fear surrounded me. And I found new and unique ways to feel free within my mind, such as exploring new beaches, provincial parks or old hobbies. I even enjoyed rebelling sometimes because that’s what helped me maintain my mental health – and no, I don’t feel the need to tell you how I did that! 😊    
7. I was filled with more gratitude for my life than ever before because I witnessed so many people living with others who hurt them, becoming sick, losing their jobs, coping with great anxiety or depression etc.
8. I fortified my relationships with others because collectively, we were all facing the large obstacles brought on by Covid-19.
9. I became very clear as to how I could make a difference in this world and how I couldn’t. I am not here to change who is in power or the mandates that are put in place; others have that role. I am here to help others cope and find joy despite what goes on around us.
10. I discovered how to help my clients, even under these horrific circumstances. And I loved helping them better themselves and their lives. One quit his job in an executive position to become president of another company; many got off drugs or alcohol; one started his own company after learning all the ways to manifest what one wants; three learned to finally set boundaries with their family members, just to give a few examples.
11. I learned how to conquer my fear of doing online workshops and actually relished offering each and every one of them; yes, there are more to come in 2021!
12. I got to work on so many other creative business projects that I never had the time for previously and found that I could help others in more ways having completed these projects i.e. my “digital journal to soul transformation’, my ‘corona journaling’, my recordings, my corporate seminars and the partnerships I forged to help individuals detoxify from drugs and alcohol.  
13. Within a week of Covid-19 hitting Ontario, I re-learned all the ways to strengthen our immunity (please click on this link to read that blog post) and began focusing on it. And I found I was able to eat less sugar because I no longer felt I needed it for short bursts of energy to do everything I was doing previously.
14. I learned to live ‘in the flow’ like never before because I wasn’t cramming so much into my days. I was able to be in the present moment more and simply ENJOY.
15. I became much more at peace with myself due to the world slowing down. As a result, I learned more than ever how to see the greatness all around us. And I got better at teaching others how to be more at peace with themselves and see the greatness within themselves and around them.
16. I discovered the power of a smile. So many times I was surrounded by sad, down or scared individuals and I got to see how my smile, smiling eyes or jokes relaxed them or opened them up, so they could release their fears.  
17. I was able to observe how Covid-19 and all the planetary shifts were increasing our awareness like never before. For example, when children began painting the rocks and leaving them in so many neighbourhoods to give people hope, it opened the hearts of those who were lucky enough to come upon them. But some criticized the art because the paint being used was toxic and harming our environment. Increased awareness is designed to open our hearts and take better care of our world.                    
18. I became acutely aware of the incredible healing effects of being in nature, listening to music, exercising, being creative and eating healthily. This had never been so obvious to me before – I saw how all five had the capability to completely transform me when I felt down about our circumstances.
19. I learned that the world could be shut down and that there was nothing anyone could do about it (at least, not right away), no matter how powerful anyone thought they were.
20. I strengthened my relationship with the universe, knowing that having faith was all I could rely upon when our whole physical world had been turned upside down and threats regarding our future were continually being made.

As one client said to me, “I feel as though I have evolved ten years since this all started.” I couldn’t agree more. It was a HUGE year for learning. And no time is ever wasted, as long as we are learning.

My hope is that reading this, you might feel compelled to put pen to paper and become acutely aware of what YOU learned over this past year. Going through this process certainly made me realize how much I accomplished in a year in which we were placed in lockdown, so much of the time.     

The Winter Solstice on Dec 21, 2020 ushers in the Age of Aquarius – a time of freedom and change. This does not mean there won’t be further challenges for us. Remember to continue finding ways to enjoy yourselves, no matter what goes on around us. Remember to see the good, as opposed to dwelling on the bad. Remember to hold the faith for the emergence of a safer and happier world.

Hi! I’m Meredith Deasley BA, RNCP, RHN, ACC, an accredited life coach and registered holistic nutritionist. I have connected individuals and families to health and happiness for almost 20 years. My trilogy has helped people around the world heal physically, emotionally and spiritually and see their greatness. I help people through individualized sessions and my seminars or workshops.  To learn more about my services, please click on www.theresourcefulmother.com.