What did we learn in 2020? More than the average year, possibly. We’d love to hear your thoughts on the year down in the comments. To start things off, here are our reflections on 2020!
We decided to come up with these as a group for this post, chatting with each other in our team Slack and deciding on the top five below!
1. Empathy
This one resonated most strongly with all of us.
Gillian: Empathy is what makes the world go round. For example:
- Knowing wearing a mask and being cautious can help save other people’s lives;
- Listening with an open heart when people say they are being systemically oppressed;
- Reaching out to comfort friends online when they are struggling, even if you may never meet in person;
- And importantly, forgiving yourself when you can’t handle it all the way you want to.
Amanda included empathy as one of her goals for this year. Talk less, listen more was my biggest personal goal this year to help me grow in empathy.
2. Kindness (to self and others)
Chloe: I wrote our post on Christmas Day asking people how their sewing was going, and I was struck by how many of the comments included a sense of guilt about something. People who sewed over 700 masks feeling guilty they didn’t sew more, and people feeling guilty for gaining weight or for not wanting to sew. We need a bit of kindness for ourselves and others. Not to excuse poor behaviour or step away from hard conversations, but to make sure we don’t lose sight of our glorious imperfection in a world of Instagram. We have to be able to hold the tension between “I am good enough” and “I strive to be better” simultaneously.
3. Patience
As Gabby put it: I drive myself really hard, and this year I ground to a halt in so many ways. I had to recenter everything around my family and keeping everyone safe and healthy, and schooled, and entertained in our endless almost-lockdown. I had to take so many breaks to remind myself that this year is not normal, and it’s ok to take time to get to one tiny goal, rather than leaping forward to bigger ones.
4. Being OK with the gray
Kathryn called this out in more ways than one! Mine is becoming more comfortable with the gray… Living with uncertainty, embracing ambiguity, and being okay with the gray hairs that have appeared on my head this year.
5. Forging your own path
Rachel found that one of the answers in Maggie’s In-Seam Insights post particularly resonated with her — where she spoke about asking the hard questions and making tough decisions that she wouldn’t have otherwise made. So — self reflection, deciding what and who is healthy for you and what and who is not.
And Monserratt put it so perfectly: Mine is to stop listening to what I should be doing with my life and and start creating a life I’m proud of and happy to live.
I look forward to hearing your reflections on this crazy year!
You all make my heart warm every day, and I’m so grateful for the sewing community!
Gillian x