Recap: a new, more virulent strain of coronavirus is burning through Brits; COVID cases in the United States are expanding by the day; government and corporate servers in the United States were hacked by some foreign entity; the allegations of voter fraud have led a former (and pardoned general) to toss around the idea of implementing martial law; and, the tax relief bill includes a “three martini lunch” provision for corporate executives. And this is just the news from the last five days.

We seem to live under a magical assumption. The ball will drop, closing out 2020. We’ll sing “Auld Lang Syne,” kiss our significant others, and hit the hay. And when the sun greets us on January 1, 2021, the chaos of 2020 will be in the rear view mirror. But this is not the way time, nor viruses, nor hackers, nor politicians, nor lobbyists work. These are the propagators of the churn, the scorch and burn for the sake of profit. They are the propagators of volatility, uncertainty, chaos, and ambiguity since Adam ate the apple, though the modes of technology and the means of attack were different. (Recall the bubonic plague, the knife of Brutus, the Trojan horse?)

I am aware these are not uplifting thoughts, but they are sober. So as we enter 2021, I’m asking you pause. To steal yourself for more of the same. To prepare your heart and mind to approach the new challenges of a new year with toughness, sobriety, and joy. How?

Carve out some time today, and reflect on 2020. Don’t just wallow in the sorrow of a year gone sour. Instead, consider the good stuff, the stuff the fire didn’t touch. Create a sort of good-stuff list, then reflect on it. Share it with you spouse, your friend, whomever. Invite them to create their own.

Train your eyes to see the goodness and beauty of the world around you, even when everything is burning. That kind of training might just get you through another year of chaos.

Come back tomorrow, when I’ll be sharing my own Good-Stuff List.

DON’T GO JUST YET

Have you lived a sober 2020? Chances are, you’ve found yourself more prone to addiction than ever. (The stats say as much.) There’s hope, though. Pick up The Book of Waking Up, and walk into a new year of true, inner sobriety.