Phew! Talk about one for the books, 2020 was definitely it! 

For a year that kicked off as normal, none of us anticipated the trials that’d come with it, let alone a pandemic. Spending almost three quarters of the year locked into our homes in fear of the deadly virus that claimed so many lives definitely had an impact on most of us, most of which was negative. Not to mention most people losing their jobs or having to close their businesses leaving many without a source of income.

Needless to say, it’s been hella difficult to practice gratitude this year. However, our team thought long and hard about the 2 things they are grateful for this year and we’re going to dive into it in a minute.

“Being thankful is not always experienced as a natural state of existence, we must work at it, akin to a type of strength training for the heart.” – Larissa Gomez

The First thing would be the gift of Life. Having witnessed this year claiming over 1.6million lives, just being alive is something we can never take for granted. All these people had dreams, ambitions and hope for themselves and their loved ones, only to have their lives snatched away in a matter of weeks. That could’ve been any of us but here we still are, breathing, living and even thriving. Gratitude is a must.

The second thing is simply basic life needs. With so many people out of jobs, being able to afford housing, food, shelter and education is definitely a privilege. Some of us are even able to afford luxuries such as cars, phones or even being able to buy our loved ones gifts this Christmas. We have to recognize the blessings we’ve got and also be able to pay them forward. That is why our work at SGB is so important to us because it forces us to use our resources to bless others who are less fortunate, especially in such difficult times.

As we approach 2021 let’s practice counting our blessings and naming them one by one. It doesn’t matter what didn’t work out this year, what matters is you are still here and you’ve got a chance to make it happen next year. With that, Happy Holidays and Stay Grateful!

“Gratitude turns what we have into enough.” – Anonymous