A Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Year

At the very beginning of this year, I drafted the following post:

2016 has been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year and it is only January 4th. I will spare you the sob story, but I promise you it sucks. I didn’t even set out to achieve any grand resolutions this year – just to simplify life and enjoy family and friends. So, when curve balls started flying just days before the New Year and have not relented, I find myself wanting to move to Australia.

Sh*! had hit the fan; awful things over which I had no control happened and I was in a dark place. I gave myself time to wallow, have a pity party, experience the emotions and then I turned it around. By March I was able to sincerely write Still Lucky and vowed to focus on the attributes I desire: positivity, faith, hope and love.

Things still sucked. So many horrible things happened to so many people I love and of course to millions I don’t know. It was an extremely hard year for too many and the common theme seems to be that we all just want this year to be over. But there was also so much good.  

Through loss, illness, devastation, natural disasters, tumultuous politics, pain, sadness, fear, ugliness, and angst, I was able to see humanity in a new light. Friends and strangers amazed me with their generous spirits as they stood up in support of whatever tragedy they were facing. I saw selflessness, a genuine desire to help, kindness, strength, wisdom, respect, and hope.

As 2017 approaches, we could make countless resolutions and proclaim that it is going to be so much better. And hopefully it will be. But the reality is that unfortunately, life IS hard and no year is perfect. Bad things happen every day. Most of the really terrible, horrible, no good, very bad things that we endure cannot be undone. It’s more a matter of what we do in the face of those obstacles.

Good things happen every day too. The way we respond and look at things carries great impact. If we practice gratitude, live in the moment, seek the beauty, smile easily, unplug, treasure relationships, help when needed, be a light for others, pray, cherish our blessings, and make the most of every opportunity and experience, even a terrible, horrible, no good very bad year won’t get the best of us. 

We exit this year not necessarily hoping for greatness, just the ability to see the positives and experience the good where we can.

P.S. You never know, we may still move to Australia. However, it would be for the right reasons, not to run away.