December 22, 2020
2020 was the year no one expected. Things started out seemingly fine for most of us and then suddenly we’re living in the middle of history in a pandemic for the majority of the year. You’ve heard everyone say it all year long – these are unprecedented times – and they are, but what has this public health crisis taught us? What have you learned? I’d like to share with you what I’ve learned.
2020 was the year I learned to slow down and even to pause for a while. I learned that amidst the darkness, there is still light. Sometimes you need to look for it, while other times you need to shine your light on others to help them through it. Other times still, you simply have to put your light out there in the hopes that the person who needs it will see it and let it guide them to where they need to be. This year was a year of extremes. There was great division, but there was also great togetherness. I saw people come together to help people they didn’t know, to help lift their voices higher so they can be in the spotlight. We all saw the medical community come together and work harder than they ever have before. We saw researchers, epidemiologists, virologists, and other members of the medical community come together to work quickly to create a safe, and effective vaccine to help get our arms around this virus that has become our entire lives this year.
2020 was also the year I learned more about myself. I learned more about mental health and how important it is for everyone to have access to resources; I also learned how important self-care is – everything from naps to home spa days, coloring, and simply taking time to listen to music, podcasts, or whatever makes me happy and calm. We all learned how strong stress is in our lives and that we have to find positive ways to deal with it in order to be able to face each day when uncertainty is the main item on the daily agenda. I know that using my CBD has greatly helped me stay calm and helped to keep things more manageable, if that’s possible during the middle of a pandemic.
We had to change so much about how we live our lives in order to keep ourselves, our loved ones, and our community members safe. We had to stay apart so that we can come together again soon. I think we all have a deeper understanding for how important hugs are to our well-being. Learning to stay connected virtually has been another substantial lesson of this year. It may not be perfect, but we are so fortunate to have the technology that we do in order to stay connected, even if it’s not ideal.
As the new year quickly approaches and uncertainty remains at the top of our daily agenda, a new year brings new hope – hope that we will be able to come together again soon and hug each other and do all of the things we love to do together instead of on a video call. There will still be challenges ahead, but my hope is that we’ll be better equipped to deal with them and we’ll begin to reshape what normal is for us and that this normal will lift us all up so that we’ll have healthier lives.
To those of you who have supported us this year – thank you. We are grateful for your support and we look forward to continuing to support you not only this year, but in the years to come. I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you and yours a happy new year – may it be filled with a multitude of blessings – none greater than we’ll be able to come back together in the new year.
We wish you the best for 2021…
Jenna,
President of Product Development