Possible 2022

“We really do excel at dehumanizing each other.”

This is my predominant thought as I drive through Denver in 2021. It’s complete lawlessness. Not a lot of kindness on the roads.

In some ways, maybe it results from the continuing pandemic. People are angry and scared and want normalcy. They want to be safe in this world. 

We all want that.

It’s not just about being kind but seeing the value and humanity in each other and ourselves.

On the flip side, I’ve seen incredible generosity towards our work, even while watching what happens on social media, how we treat each other in person, traffic, basically how we batter each other.

Sometimes it does my head in to witness the brutality and the beauty of humans simultaneously.

 hings really went from bad to worse this year, for many people, particularly for the Palestinians. The Israeli bombardment of Gaza, the barbarity of the occupation of the West Bank, and the collapse of Lebanon. Let alone the lack of basic human rights, adequate health care during a pandemic and accessibility of vaccines. 

 How is there safety for Palestinians in this world?

2022 is about to begin. I love a new year and the possibilities it brings. That’s the word I am declaring for 2022: Possible.

Usually I focus on the impossible, like working in the Middle East, like fighting for Palestinian rights. But is it impossible or is that what the world tells us? I laugh as I write that because something in me loves a challenge. But often I focus on the negatives much more than the positives of my work. What if I reversed that?

 Here’s what I am holding in my heart for possibilities of 2022. May it be so.

 Replace fear with love

 More listening

 Less noise

 Nature would captivate us

 Justice would flow like a river

 Knowledge seekers

 Value differences

 Racial equality

 Holding dual narratives

 Both/and

 Hatred would have no place

 Radical generosity would thrive

 We would not reward greed

 We would welcome marginalized voices

 Power bending to justice

 Acknowledge beauty and suffering together

Healing

Reconciliation

Risk taking

Compassion leading to action

Safety and security for all

Finding a home in ourselves

Light over darkness

A place at the table for all

For each one of us to know that we (yes, you!) can make a difference in 2022. 

It starts with us.

“And now we welcome the new year. Full of things that have never been.” ~ Rainer Maria Rilke