It’s Sneak Peek Week for 2022, and I’ve been thinking the last several days about what I want from this new year. Those thoughts are tempered somewhat by what I wanted from the last two years, versus what those years actually delivered. Let’s just say I’m leery.
Let’s not kid ourselves…
2020 was BAD. We had a US President who was totally off the rails. We had race riots. We had cops killing innocent people. We had First Amendment rights being totally trampled on. And, oh yeah, we had this outbreak of Covid and a total pandemic.
That year ended, bringing with it promises for major changes here in the United States. A new President and the restoration of peace and dignity to the Oval Office. The promise of an end to the pandemic. Rebuilding America for the next generation, with heavy investments in infrastructure and renewable energy. A return to the Paris Agreement and re-engagement of American interests in the global community. 2021 was supposed to be the clouds parting and the sunlight shining through.
But then…
The former US President decided he couldn’t handle losing the election and tried taking the government back through an insurrection. And all his Republican cronies in the Senate and House, along with his kraken legal team, spread the Big Lie that the election was stolen. That there was widespread voter fraud. That the election results couldn’t be trusted. Oh the many, many baseless conspiracies and court cases, all of which were debunked and thrown out. Many claims of fraud with zero actual verifiable evidence.
What surprised me the most about 2021 and all those shenanigans was how many US citizens actually bought into this Qraziness and supported the former guy. So many people completely unable or unwilling to think for themselves. And so many of our US politicians, elected officials in the House and Senate, who keep pushing these lies EVEN NOW and fighting against every good the Democrats are trying to do! It’s been a crazy, crazy show kids.
And so many people refusing to get the Covid vaccine. “I got muh rights!” So that pandemic that started back in 2020, the one that could’ve been over by now? Yep. Just kept raging right on through 2021. It even morphed into two hydra-headed variants—Delta and Omicron. This thing COULD’VE BEEN OVER! But nope. Just keeps brewing because people are too deluded to protect themselves and others.
So now 2022…
I honestly don’t know. 2020 was the opening first act, where we saw bad things happen to our hero. 2021 became Act II, where things just went from bad to worse. If 2022 follows suit, it SHOULD BE the year where the hero is finally triumphant, where evil is overcome, where good prevails, where we might not get everything we want, but at least we get some things that we desperately need. I dunno. It could also go the other way. 2022 could end up being another installment in the Harry Potter franchise, where things just keep getting worse and worse, and the evil wizard keeps growing more powerful, and more innocent people just keep dying. Sheesh.
Here’s what I do know…
I’ve had enough. Two years (three really, or four, if you throw 2018 and 2019 into the mix) is more drama than I care to deal with anymore. And the toll it’s taken on my well-being…ugh! Living in survival mode for so long has just wreaked havoc on me. Physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually…you name it. And social media hasn’t helped at all. Sure there’s the awful news that’s constantly being broadcast, but there’s also trolls and bots and, honestly, just really ignorant and stupid people to deal with.
Neo unplugs from the Matrix…
I deleted my Facebook and Twitter and Instagram accounts. No more. Not even taking a break, just quit cold turkey. Which was surprisingly more difficult than you think. And not because I was addicted or anything. But just technologically harder than it needed to be. It was nearly impossible to find the right menu options inside Facebook to let me do it. I probably spent more time Googling how to do it than it took to actually do it. And then once you do it, you discover there’s a thirty-day window before they actually delete your account. “In case you change your mind and want to come crying back to us” kinda thing. A “grace” period, they say. Makes it sound so, you know, congenial. Sh-yeah…right!
If anything, 2022 will be the year I build my own bunker bubble and live happily inside it until all this apocalyptic fallout blows over and settles. I’m putting all the distractions aside and focusing on two primary things: 1) my health—all aspects of it, and 2) my writing. There are things I’ve put off long enough—too long—and 2022 will be the year I really start taking control. I have a mental list of things I want to accomplish this year: get this extra flab off my body, meditate more, work on my inner peace, get closer to God, maybe even actually publish something. I started this writing gig ten years ago, and it’s high time I have something to show for it, y’all! That’s a big goal, I know, because really I have no control over who chooses to publish something. That’s not my call to make. But I can create quality content and send it out and give it the best chances for success that I can. I know I can write a lot more, and I can submit a lot more too. Those are the things I control.
So 2022…
Nothing set in stone. Nothing solid written down. I’m taking it easy this year because, doggone it, I deserve to after several years of all *motions around the world* THIS! Also kind of just taking it as it comes. One day at a time kinda thing. And we’ll see how it goes. “Reclaiming myself,” is what I’m saying.
How about you? Anything planned for the year? Any changes you want to make? Hit me up in the comments and let me know. Be good to each other!
Yeah. A few hard years followed by the fall out/consequences of those frustrating years.