2021 Was A Year Of Opportunity

It turns out that there are some years when you may want to pretend your bed is a stasis chamber and stay in it until a better year comes along. 

2021, on the surface, looked like one of those years. What a mess. 

However, I am glad I didn't miss it. If I stayed in my warm and comfy bed for the last 365 days I would have missed all kinds of opportunities.

In times of rapid change and turmoil one can try to avoid or deny the adversity swirling all around, or one can choose to get up and sift the opportunities out of the rough stuff.

That is what we did. We got up this year, day after day after day, and capitalized on a few things that have improved our lives greatly.

Here are some that come to mind:

1) We learned to live without a vehicle, and we found we like it. A lot.

2) We made stronger connections with people in our community. Getting rid of our vehicle helped.

3) We got off processed foods almost entirely, and because of that spent many glorious hours together in the kitchen cooking up the best food of our lives.

4) We enjoyed the increased isolation caused by pandemic restrictions. Extended periods of uninterrupted living were appreciated. I forgot the date, the day of the week, and sometimes the month - it was all kind of irrelevant. I would almost like to have forgotten the year as well, but that was harder to do.

5) This year's garden was a success and we preserved more food than ever before.

6) We experimented with new ways of storing food without refrigeration, like packing beets and carrots in forest moss in a bin in our unheated garage.

7) Joining a local organic food buying group has allowed us to become less dependent on the big box grocery store with its long and wobbly supply chains.

8) We revived our efforts toward finding an affordable home to make our own, and have a line on one or two possible choices. Our goal is to not have to spend most of our income on rent any more. And have a bigger garden.

So, thanks 2021. You were a year of great adversity, but also great opportunity.

Did you cash in on any pandemic-induced opportunities over the last year? 

If not, don't worry - you will probably have lots of chances for positive change in 2022, which may turn out to be as "interesting" and challenging as this year.

Is it too late to put my jammies back on and order that stasis pod?

Happy New Year, and thank you for your continued readership, friendship and comments. 

"If you can do something about it, you don't have to worry. If you can't do anything about it, you don't have to worry."