Dear Editor
Regarding 鈥淥ur Ugly Pandemic Year of 2020 - A Year for the Trash Can,鈥� News-Optimist Jan. 7, 2021, I would have expected a more positive perspective from the 鈥淥ptimist,鈥� as this seems to be quite the contradiction, since it鈥檚 not hard to see the amazing things that have happened this year.
I work in mental health with people who suffer from chronic mental illness. In all of my career, I have never seen so many people so calm and at peace, in the face of so much chaos surrounding them. They cannot have visitors, are not able to do many of the activities they could before and are primarily stuck on the unit. I can鈥檛 quite put my finger on why they are so settled. They don鈥檛 complain and are generally happy, in spite of the challenges we face daily. They inspire me every single day.
All I know is, when you look for good, beauty and positivity, it is everywhere. In no way am I trying to minimize how challenging this year has been, not only for myself, but for many other people, and I have the utmost compassion for you.
When you look for the sun set, you see beauty. When you don鈥檛, it鈥檚 just a regular day. We need to adjust our perception from problem based to hope based, and it is up to you. In addition to the virus; so too is positive energy extremely contagious.
Tiare Aubryn Fenrich
North Battleford
