Note: This article was published in our OCT 2020 Issue on October 31, 2020.

Not all gifts are rejoiced over and cherished immediately. 2020 has been the kind that disgusts us at first. Like a dated gift from a grandparent, we take it because we have to, yet only notice its value much later. And the year has presented each of us with the choice of appreciating and internalizing that value or leaving this powerful gift tucked away on a shelf. 

Numerologists believe the sum of the numbers that make up each year can give us clues on the themes in our lives that the year will illuminate.

In this case, 2020 (2+0+2+0) adds up to 4 – a number representing how we’ve cultivated foundational beliefs, habits, and ways of existing.

This number brings us back to the beginning of all aspects of our lives. We’ve been beckoned to ask ourselves two main questions over and over again: “What foundation is my life built on?” and “What can I do to make it stronger?”

Unfortunately, a foundation cannot be repoured without tearing the entire structure down first. Sound familiar? 2020 has been ridden with the illumination of faulty structures and subsequent calls to tear them down on a global, national, and personal scale. 

On a global level, we’ve fought to implement an infrastructure that supports the longevity of all life on Earth. On a national level, we’ve fought for a society that acknowledges more than the economic utility of black and brown bodies, but our inherent value as human beings. On a personal level, we’ve fought for inner stability as we cope with the complexities of our relationships with ourselves and others during this great energy shift. 

As our foundations have crumbled in many unique and unforeseeable ways, we are presented with a choice. In the breakdown of all that we know and believe in, will we find a stronger, more sustainable way of existing or will we grab at the rubble of what we used to know? 

To recognize the appearance of these two paths is to be a part of the spiritual awakening many have experienced this year. Realizing that this grand breakdown of our lives has been a purposeful and divine restructuring of the habits, beliefs, and tools that are no longer useful to us is the only way to utilize this year’s energy to its full potential. 

Even then, we must do the work. 

The foundation of our lives is built on three key aspects:

who we are,

what we believe in, and

what we’re willing to fight for.

Only by uncovering all the details of these overarching themes can we begin to build habits that support a forward-flowing trajectory toward realizing our purpose.  

How we identify ourselves has perhaps wavered most amidst the disorder of the year. Finding out “who we are” is a constant unfolding over a lifetime, yet there are some aspects we must be clear on to journey peacefully. This year has taken away much of who we think we are in order to reveal the truth of our identities. 

We are not the people, places, or things that we love. And we cannot live lives full of attachment to the sentimentality of the things we want at the cost of the things that are best for us. The year has shown us this by removing so many of the things we identify with. Who are we without our jobs? Our families? Our social lives? 

Though a painful task, self was forced to be found in the silence of many quarantined days. 

Meanwhile, sitting in the discomfort of loneliness and uncertainty bred questions of who or what to believe in. In the physical space, our trust in policymakers, government agencies, the media, and other powerful entities has been questioned more strongly than ever before. As a result, in the spiritual space, our faith has been deeply tested. 

When faced with the darkness of the unknown, we each grasp for someone or something to trust. Yet, during these times when it’s clear that no one has the answers, we’ve been called to recognize that the clearest guidance comes from within. When all else fails, our intuitions are always there to lead us toward the light. 

Finally, with acknowledgment of how we’ve defined ourselves and our beliefs, we then have a responsibility to determine what we are willing to fight for. As unfair as it feels, we cannot rally for every movement. An attempt to do so would result in mediocre efforts on several fronts and intense mental strain to accompany them.

“So, despite the intensity of the destruction of our outer and inner worlds, 2020 has certainly been a gift.”

In a world filled with inequities, each of us has to prioritize the causes that lay close to our hearts. With an abundance of turmoil surfacing in the world this year, we have all had to face this truth We must identify what purpose our unique gifts lend themselves to as we contemplate what role we play in the movements we take part in. 

These foundations, having been carefully cultivated through the divine interventions that dictated each of our lives in 2020, will act as the ultimate launching pad for the great changes the world will undergo in the years to come. 

So, despite the intensity of the destruction of our outer and inner worlds, 2020 has certainly been a gift. Those who have accepted it as such will leave the year feeling the triumphs of transformation while those who rejected its initial undesirability will remain on shaky ground until they heed the call to rebuild. 

As the world continues to morph into an unrecognizable landscape, this was a year to solidify our future stability. Through the chaos, we have found the unwavering strength of inner-sanctuary. By choosing to build our homes within ourselves, our foundations may be tried, but they will not be torn.