Reflection ramps up toward the end of a year. Here we are, almost at the end of a second year of living with the Covid-19 virus. How are you navigating through it all?

Thanksgiving this year felt like a welcome pause, to connect with family and friends and be mindful of the blessings in our lives.

Life threw us another curve that day, with news of a new Covid variant. Called Omicron, the new variant is still elusive enough we don’t know exactly how to proceed. As if we ever did.

Reflecting on Thanksgiving 2020 gave me much-needed perspective. The LA County Health Department was just shutting down outdoor dining for restaurants, as Covid spiked in Los Angeles. It felt like a near-death knell for our family’s fledgling restaurant that opened in the summer of 2020.

A year later, though, much has changed. Vaccines became available soon after last Thanksgiving. Business restrictions eased, and the restaurant is generating momentum. Life returned mostly to normal, albeit wearing masks in public places and managing through supply chain disruptions.

Remembering how quickly a year passes and how much changes resulted in two observations. First, a lot can change in a year. Second, viewed in that context, the present truly is a present. And third, what is possible during the next year?

As the poet Mary Oliver penned: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and previous life?”

Our lives take shape in the minutes, hours, days and years.

What is possible for YOU in the year ahead?