It's A Good Thing

Let’s be real: 2017 was something of a dumpster fire. Okay, it was a complete dumpster fire. I was looking through my TimeHop on New Year’s Eve and it was full of hopeful optimism. Hopeful and, sometimes, misplaced optimism.

Remember when we thought that 2016 was as bad as it could get? Remember that?!

But that isn’t to say that 2017 was all bad. Some good things definitely happened! It was just kind of hard to find them in the bad things, sometimes. That’s why I decided to do a “Good Things Jar.”

What is a “Good Things Jar”? I’m so glad you asked. It’s a mason jar. A simple mason jar. My mason jar has a pretty sweater that was knitted by my husband’s aunt but the basic structure is still a jar.

As with most containers, the important thing is what goes inside. Every week I would write down one good thing that happened and put it in the jar. It could be something as small as “saw a really good movie” or as big as “got an amazing new job.” It just had to be something that made life a little brighter. There were some weeks where it was hard to think of things, but I was always able to. And on New Year’s Day I emptied the jar and looked back at all of the great things that happened during 2017.

Looking over all of my “good things” notes, I realised that 2017 really did have some bright spots. I was reminded of all of my wonderful friends and family members and the good times we had. I just felt better.

Am I crazy optimistic about 2018? No. There will still be battles to be fought and trials to be overcome. The world will see bad things and hardships. But I know we can find at least one good thing a week. One thing that made things a little brighter. And at the end of the year, all of those little lights will create a big shine.

Here’s to 2018, folks. Let’s do this.