If You Had to Choose One Thing…

In the movie, “City Slickers”, Mitch Robins (Billy Crystal) asks the stoic trail-boss, Curly Washburn (Jack Palance), “Do you know what the secret of life is?”

Curly holds up his index finger and says, “It’s just one thing.” And then he adds that life is about figuring out that one thing.

So, here we are, 2021, and it is one of the more dramatic times in history when the swinging door from one year to the next has been swung wide open with so much hope and meaning hanging on its hinges.

I asked a friend to choose one thing, or better said, one word, that described 2020. The word she chose was “fear.”

And what was she fearful of? Illness, death, school closings, poverty for many, Trump being re-elected, lonely feelings, racial conflict, and more.

So, what is one word that best describes when she looks afar into 2021?

“Hope.”

Take a moment and look at this list of words: space, hope, fear, meaning, joy, compassion, passage, study, simplicity, generosity, resiliency, grace, present, relationships, recovery, creativity, family, health, spirituality, risk, savings, service, freedom, transformation.

It is random. And, it may or may not contain the word you would choose that describes the one thing that best describes your view of 2021. What is your word?

You can look for words that are pessimistic or optimistic; intentional or que sera sera. It’s just good to have a word that serves as a guidepost in 2021.

Then, walk through the swinging door. Make the best of the cards that are dealt you (the realism of life) but never forget that if it is not a winning hand, you can ask for more cards. Oh, and remember Curly, approach life one thing at a time.