2020 is Your Year

Photo credit: @Jeremy_Clyne (twitter)The first full business week of the new year is over. I was going to sit down on Sunday, 12 January 2020 around 5pm London time to write this piece. I did. But, I was going to write about an email accountability practice I started in August 2019. I was going to write about how supportive it has been in fulfilling my weekly goals; how it has set me up in 2020 to move forward with a dream to publish my novel-memoir. I was going to write about the importance of unpaid work in being of service and being of value to family, friends, and those I hardly know. Unpaid work does not figure in a country’s GDP estimates but without it an economy would crawl to a halt.Earlier on Sunday afternoon, I went for a walk in the rare winter sunshine through a park near my home. I was meeting my sister in Balham, southwest London. A car was parked at an odd angle between two large trees on the roadside along my usual path. It seemed twisted. A couple of men were standing at separate respectful distances from the vehicle, a black BMW. There were pieces of black plastic or metal on the ground up to ten feet from the car in all directions. The distinctive grille was missing, the front of the car was gone. The shimmering engine block, exposed, was compacted and shredded. The tree stood resolute.The passenger cell of the car was intact. The windscreen shattered but holding together. The driver side airbag had been cut, spread open, and pink stained. The occupant(s) had been removed long ago. A pile of fabric lay on the path, sky-blue layered over white.Whose dreams died today? Did the driver take the blind bridge a little too fast? Surprised by some parked car or obstacle on the other side? Swerved onto the oncoming lane and smashed into the base of the tree? I used to drive a similar car – sturdy, responsive, fast. I always felt safe in my black BMW. 230 brake horse power. My heart now felt heavy, the ground sacred.Do not let your dreams die this year because you are too busy or because you have a horrible boss. We each have a time limit. Our expiry date is unknown. Your unique talents are meant to be shared otherwise, left unexpressed, they will kill you. 2020 is your year. Let’s do this.Angela G Horne, https://angelagabrielahorne.com