Words that caught us: C-Y-B is for 'Count Your Blessings' (Part III)

 

Just in case you missed it,

Here are Part I and II.

 

Day 20

We are grateful to our village wags,

Comedians,

And all those jolly go-lucky buddies,

Who made us laugh and giddy.

Humour is an important antidote,

To the fear and uncertainty we all felt.

It’s no wonder that we sought it out

And shared it in good measure, during this pandemic.

Thanks to all those blessed with a funny bone,

For serving us good therapy, when we needed it most.

Blessed are you, for making life light.

 

Day 21

This year gave us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity

To break away from our routines,

To pause and question,

To reflect and re-look,

And to re-orient ourselves.

It’s doubtful that there is anyone alive today,

Whose daily routine wasn’t disrupted this year,

However slightly.

By now, we’ve all come to terms with the fact

That life is fragile,

And can end suddenly, on a random occurrence.

This acceptance has left us questioning ourselves

And our busyness,

Especially now, that we most of what we thought

Were important routines, turned out to be utterly unnecessary.

This pause was gift that helped us see the bigger picture,

To change and re-orient the direction of our lives.

For that, we are grateful.

 

Day 22

COVID has massively rocked the status quo,

And the mantra that ‘we’ve always done it this way’!

We have always worked in the office, is out.

We have always gone shopping at the mall, is out.

Children only learn in school, is out.

We have always greeted each other

By shaking hands and hugging, is out.

That’s how fast the status quo has disintegrated!

Thanks to this pandemic, we are now free

To break away from habits and traditions

That don’t serve us any more,

And innovate new ways of doing and being.

 

Day 23

Thanks to the fear and uncertainty

We all felt this year.

It forced us to face our demons and insecurities,

To notice our shadows and failings,

To acknowledge the falsehoods in our assumptions,

And to see our under-bellies and blind-spots.

We all noticed the quiet beauty and serenity,

When all major cities of the world,

Suddenly emptied of humanity.

Even the animals noticed it too,

And came out in their numbers,

To celebrate the miracle.

It has been a long year of learning, unlearning,

And re-learning.

We are grateful to this pandemic,

For revealing to us stuff,

We didn’t know about ourselves,

And the world we live in.

 

Day 24

This year, we proved to ourselves

That we’ve got the staying power,

To stay the course,

Even in the face of inevitable change.

Our being alive today,

Is a statement of our resilience.

If you still have work to do, and customers to serve,

It means you are adding value to someone,

And making a worthy contribution to the world.

If you have people saying, calling or texting you

‘Merry Christmas’,

It means you are not alone,

That there is still plenty of kindness and good cheer

To pass around,

And that someone out there, cares and loves you.

We have fought a good fight,

And we have the scars to show for it.

We have been changed by what has happened,

But we have refused to be reduced by it!*

And that, good friend, is worth more than any amount,

Of silver and gold.

 

Day 25

We are grateful to COVID,

For showing us what true leadership is,

Who the true leaders are,

And for exposing all fraudsters, masquerading as leaders!

It’s not just joy that we celebrate on Christmas day;

We also celebrate the deity’s lesson in good leadership.

Who among us is willing to humble themselves,

By giving their best, and serving selflessly,

That others, may live abundant lives?

Isn’t that what, ‘Christ is born’, symbolizes?

This is, therefore, a good time for us to reflect,

On our values and ideals of leadership.

Are we satisfied with the performance of our leaders,

in this pandemic?

Did we see them leading in and through the crisis,

Or did they dissipate and dissolve?

Did they walk the talk,

Or merely preached water, and drank wine?

Did we look up them for calm, compassionate, but steely direction,

Or did they jump and skip, waiver and flip?

Did we feel like they cared and understood our pain and plight,

Or were they distant and disconnected?

Did we rest in peace and comfort, knowing they were serving us,

Or did they take advantage of these dire times, to serve themselves?

If we are bold enough to answer these questions,

What will we do, now that we know the truth?

  

Day 26

This year has opened our eyes to our waywardness,

And, in the process, led us to profound perspective shifts,

That have enriched our lives beyond measure.

This pandemic has been a first, for most of us.

We do not know of anyone who claims

To ever have experienced anything like this,

Or even closely resembling this.

If you are in business, you must have, by now,

Updated your risks profile to include

Shut downs and lock downs.

If you are a parent, you, undoubtedly,

Would handle the situation very differently,

The next time you suspect that your kids will be home,

For an extended period of time, without any schooling.

If you are in education, you must, by now,

Have realized that something must change,

About how education is managed and delivered.

If you are in leadership, you must, by now,

Be retooling yourself on how to connect, lead,

Communicate, manage and coach remote workers.

If you are an employee,

You now know that work is not guaranteed,

And that, the opportunity to utilize your passion, talents and skills,

In adding value, contributing and doing work that matters,

Is a privilege that must be earned, every day,

And that's the only guarantee you have, of earning a livelihood.

What perspective shifts has this year revealed to you?

 

*Paraphrasing Maya Angelou: “I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.”