2020 Vision

Another year has come and gone. As is customary, people are making predictions and resolutions. With a new "decade" starting (although, whether or not we have started a new decade is still up to debate) there is an increase in excitement. People are looking forward to things being exciting and new. For us at the Andrews household, we too are looking forward with anticipation, but as always, I take a look back at what happened to measure what is likely to come.

My writing really took a hiatus this last year. I learned a lot about finding balance, and trying to write when I had little I wanted to write about just did not seem to be a big enough motivation. My Trek blog went from several dozen posts a year to just a handful. This blog also took a hit. My reasons for writing in this blog are mostly to write something positive, with the occasional addressing of a more serious topic. This last year I really found that I wanted to scream and shout about things and celebrate less, so I wrote less. I found a lot of things frustrated me last year, all of which seem to center on a lack of compassion and a desire to "win" instead of communicating and understanding. People have become so polarized on just about everything in life, and when I have tried to engage in discourse on these topics, I am met with insults, condescension, and outrage. While it is not a majority of people I interact with, it is growing, and that concerns me.

Don't get me wrong, there was a lot to celebrate last year. Hope started kindergarten at FFCA. Barbara took grade 2 by storm. Both girls are growing in their talents on the piano (Barbara has been showing such growth recently). Heather has a new principal at her school and feels much better about her work environment. I took on a new student teacher this year who is showing amazing potential and talent. Two of my favorite franchises reached important milestones this year (MCU and Star Wars). I saw a lot of growth in many of my students and former students, including one who has had her outstanding one act play work-shopped, one who starred in her first professional Shakespearean play, and one who is starting her first play production. It wasn't the most pleasant of years. I had hernia surgery in the summer, saw a Prime Minister plagued with controversy get re-elected because there were no better alternative, and this has led to an increase in people wanting in Western Canada wanting to separate and form their own country. We see politics reaching new lows across the world, and I long for the days when I can trust my elected officials. Sadly, I said goodbye to several individuals who have had a positive influence in my life. So, in short, it's been a regular year, but there has been enough negativity to leave me wanting better.

There have been many tongue-in-cheek comments about this year having "20-20 vision", and I would like to see that more. I would love to see more peace, more compassion, and more of us seeking to understand others. I would like to see less hatred, less contention, and less prideful measurements of the value of others. I would hope that we have learned a lot from 45 years ago, and I would also hope that we will continue to grow and learn even more. I often talk about what I would like to see changed in the world, but really, I can only change myself. I can influence, but ultimately I am responsible for myself. So the things that I want to see most in the world, I will first work to establish those things within my own self. I will have to work at having more compassion, more tolerance, and more respect to those whose perceptions are different from my own. After all, if 2020 is supposed to be a year of clear vision, than I must do what I can to correct my own vision first if I expect others to do likewise,