It’s Christmastime in a time of pandemic. All of us — really and truly the whole wide world — remain in a state of suspended animation that was unimaginable a year ago. And yet here we are.
Tallying the negatives of 2020 amid the pandemic is ridiculously easy. Everyone has lost something meaningful this year: evaporated travel plans and long-hoped-for summertime reunions, postponed weddings and massively scaled-down bar mitzvahs, forbidden yoga classes and coffee-shop meetups with friends.
And those were the comparatively small losses. Illness, unemployment, food insecurity, evictions, sudden child-care demands, physical separation from loved ones in extended care homes and (ugh) death were among COVID-19’s most sinister attributes.
While there was comfort in knowing that people from Alberta to Albania to Argentina were experiencing similar hardships simultaneously, reminding us that we are all one people, it was scant and largely conceptual comfort amid the day-to-day demands of just getting by.
But the pandemic has also made crystal clear what is important in this life in profound ways that nothing else ever has. And it is precisely during the holiday season — when we are most encouraged by faith and tradition to remember what matters most — that it is essential to take stock of the good. Even if we are celebrating alone or in our small bubbles rather than gathered around a large dinner table festooned with food, drink, and fellow human beings.
Laser-focusing on gratitude is the surest path to a happy holiday season — albeit a dramatically altered one for most people — and for maintaining a semblance of well-being even as many of our dearest and longest-standing rituals go unobserved for safety reasons.
Here are just a few of the positive reminders the pandemic has burned into our collective brains these past few months:
-hugs and kisses are the best
-animals always fill a void
-our elders are essential, and their care is paramount
-friends and family bring more joy than money ever can
-good health and access to healthcare for all is a basic human right
-neighbours matter, whether to commiserate with or to hide the Amazon package left clumsily in plain view on the porch
-small, independent businesses and eateries boost neighbourhoods and must be patronized and preserved
-things can and will change without notice, and it behooves us to be flexible and to value the present moment
-time is precious and we waste it at our peril
-absolutely nothing can be taken for granted
There is every chance that Christmas 2020, though lacking many of the familiar touchstones of the past, will be remembered as the year when the holiday spirit was most keenly felt, and notions of gratitude and love, faith and hope dominated.
If gifting is one tradition you plan to maintain this year, remember that Back on Track products for horses, humans, and dogs bring genuine comfort via Welltex® and Iontex®, the functional, analgesic ceramic textile used across our product line that has been documented to help ease muscle tension, increase blood circulation, and aid in shortening the recovery process. There has perhaps never been a better time to explore this unique line.
From Back on Track, we wish you, your family and your many two- and four-legged friends peace, joy, safety, warmth, comfort and serenity this holiday season.
Be sure to watch our Holiday Video on our Facebook page https://fb.watch/2wZ1ksO3aS/
