As we enter the final weeks of 2020, can we take on the biggest mind-training challenge of all, and find gratitude?

I know. It has been a terrible year. Horrific. Awful. Chaotic. Just the absolute worst. Honestly, out of sheer coping mechanism, we have likely blocked out a fair bit of it. And while the really strange things may have given us an anxious laugh or two- I’m looking at you, murder hornets and feral hogs- the really hard things have truly leveled us in a way that is not remotely funny. It feels like a gargantuan task to find gratitude in a year when so many have lost so much.

If you’re not in a place to do that, I honor where you are. And I send you love and comfort. Bless you, it has been so hard. I don’t even know what “it” has been for you- an avalanche of things, likely- but I send you, truly, a blessing for peace and well-being and healing. Gratitude is never to be faked or forced, and I trust it will find its way to you in its own way and in your own time.

For those of you who may be open, the thirteenth lojong slogan offers us an end-of-awful-year opportunity to ask: what would it look like to be grateful to everyone? Well, maybe not everyone. But perhaps just one. One person that may have taught you something, clarified something, even if it came in a way that was unwelcome.

My husband is far more the realist than I am, so I’ve found it both surprising and inspiring that he has regularly asked people this year, “What is your Covid silver lining?” The responses have been so heartwarming. People have shared precious small moments and beautiful insights and struggles that turned, somehow, into strength and clarity. It has not been every moment, for anyone. Life means holding the silver linings right alongside the linings with holes in them, with burnt edges and rancid smell. But that glimmer of silver? I still trust it’s there, somewhere. Not to ask you to gloss over the rest of it. But certainly to ask you to take the whole of it, including what may have surprised you or healed you or helped you.

I’ve laughed a lot about the word I chose to guide my intentions this year: clarity. WOW did that one come through! Nothing but time and space to see things differently. It wasn’t always pleasant, but I remain forever grateful for the clarity I received. This year, what became clear to you? And can you offer gratitude for it?

As many of you know, last night we experienced an astrological wonder: the Christmas star, they’re calling it. And also The Great Conjunction. Jupiter and Saturn conjoined, something that hasn’t happened in hundreds of years. Some astrologers say it is an optimistic sign of things to come. Delusions and unhealthy patterns we’ve had, both individually and collectively, are falling away and making room for an age of heightened care, responsibility, creativity, connection. While none of us knows what the future holds, I think it’s clear that none of those things are possible without gratitude. Without acceptance lined with openness to receive our lessons willingly.

Chandrakirti says, “Resentment surely serves no purpose in this life.” Obviously, this isn’t the year we wanted. But it’s the year we got. Perhaps now is the time to set down all our grievances with 2020, and simply accept it all for whatever it was, and whatever it brought us. Maybe now we can turn toward the fresh page of a new year and welcome it with a sense of hope and gratitude.

I’ll be back with our next lojong slogan after the new year. Until then, I wish you all a happy and healthy holiday! I remain grateful for you all.