One Year Gone

"Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on" ~ Hal Borland

Many of us will say goodbye to 2020 with a sentiment of 'good riddance.' What began as a hopeful year, took on a more ominous tone in January with the sudden death of basketball star Kobe Bryant. President Trump was impeached by the Senate in February and by mid-March the global pandemic, COVID-19, wreaked havoc and devastation across health and service sectors, individual families, and the economy. In June, after the death of George Floyd, the subsequent protests represented a new era where Black Lives truly do matter. Then in August, Beirut was rocked by an explosion of illegally stored ammonium nitrate, while fire tornadoes ravished in California. In November, the division-driven Trump lost the American Presidency to Joe Biden. Today, as 2020 winds down, there is news of a faster-spreading mutation of COVID-19. Sigh. How much more can this weary planet take? Much has been said in the news media regarding the above topics. The point of relevance here is captured in the essence of 2020, which features 12 months of nightmarish narratives. We carry on.

With rising COVID-19 cases, and its impact causing real fears throughout Canada, here in Vancouver, I recall weeks of empty streets as workers stayed home and students were home-schooled or joined the virtual world of education. Eerie emptiness. My work as a family counsellor also moved online. I am grateful for the training in this area and learned a lot about how online counselling works. Well into November, as the weather was mild, I continued counselling practice, meeting clients in parks, or 'walking & talking'. In March, I also completed two semesters (one night a week) at UBC, counselling community members. I now have a contract counselling Indigenous college students and continue my own virtual counselling practice. COVID impacted the start date of my final UBC practicum, especially the group counselling hours. In early January 2021, I will likely complete the remaining 15 hours for graduation (master's degree, counselling psychology). Yet, this delay and change of format (moving from in-person groups to virtual groups based on psycho-educational themes) has been invaluable. It created an opportunity to become visually creative, to reflect on ideas, and organize thoughts, and practice my public speaking skills.

I mention professional work here in this creative space because I find they are linked. Growth in one area feeds other interests. For example, since the end of April, I have moved to a new rehearsal studio, sharing a space close to home with my long-time 'jam-room roomies'. I am grateful. I have been working on singing; singing cover songs from across genres and decades. The point is to stay inspired, keep growing, and feel how it is to sing separately from playing guitar. And so with 2021 on the horizon, I plan to continue with singing, playing guitar and bass, and working toward singing and playing guitar at the same time again. Yet, this will feel different. This will be the 2021 version of creativity, which builds from discoveries and lessons lessons learned in 2020.

As the years winds down, there is a collective hope and a belief that 2021 will be a better year.

"What happens when people open their hearts? They get better." ~ Haruki Marakami

In the spirit of better times ahead, I leave you with a video. This is a song I recorded in 2020 featuring the rhythm and healing of the Native drum... (drum hand-made by yours truly).

"For last year's words belong to last year's language. And next year's words await another voice.

" ~ T.S. Eliot