Hello Friends. Well, it’s May. Month five of 2020. Almost the halfway mark. What a doozie! 

You know the old saying, “Man plans. God laughs.” Or, put another way: 

But I planner I am. A very long 5 months ago I chose my 2020 word of the year. It’s actually been on the forefront of my mind a lot in this current crisis. It was, and is, maximize. 

In that post I explained: “This year we will be pushing the boundaries (again) of what is “expected.” Some of it will be about growth, some will be about making the most of, or making the best of,  the harder bits of life.”

What I meant when I chose that word was “In 2020 I will do my best with what I am dealt.” With, and anticipating, big feelings, some fears, some ambitions, even a little dread of forthcoming challenges.

They weren’t *this* challenge. *This* challenge was not foreseen. 

So now, here we are, all of us trying to do our best with what we have. 

Maximize. 

How’s that going? You ask. Welllllllll, you know.

You’re doing it too. We’re all trying. We’re all drowning. Until we realize we aren’t… by looking around and seeing those who are. Can we reach out and give our hand?Sometimes, yes. 

Other times we see those drowning through the news feed, through the social feed, somewhere that may feel too far out of reach. 

Sometimes we see those who have succumbed and they look a little like us, and it’s terrifying. Sometimes we see folks who don’t look like us have been taken, in astounding numbers, and we feel more helpless, and also more determined than ever, to be a part of a solution. Sometimes we see folks who look a little like us acting in ways that are shameful, shameful to the heritage they say (and maybe believe) they represent. 

Then we decide, again, to take control of what we can control. And start there.  

This is the only way forward: Pay attention to what I can control and work with that. Make the best of what I can.

Turns out, it was a surprisingly prescient word to be 2020’s guiding principle. I’ll keep trying.