6 lessons from the 2020 year of the Rat

2020 is the beginning of the 12-year cycle. The animal sign of the Rat is the first of the 12 animal cycle. Because it is the year of Coronavirus, many people’s lives are strongly affected. A lot of people struggled during this year, because of the extended lockdown, many businesses failed to survive, and many people lost their jobs and health insurance. We like to reflect on 2020, and make sense of what happened and put everything into perspective.

In many Chinese fortune-telling methods, including the I-Ching, Zi Wei Dou Shu, or just the five elements theory, It always about cycles. There is a beginning, like a birth of a baby. Then, people grow, mature, and reach the highest point of career, health, and many areas of life. As time goes by, we will see a decline. There is always illness and death at the end of the cycle. And then the cycle starts again, including the birth, the growth, and the peak. For Chinese fortune telling, we usually try to find out where we stand in the cycle, we can be in the stage of growth, or the stage of decline. Everything is always changing and nobody can be on the top or button all the time. So if you hit a roadblock or challenge, it doesn't mean there's no hope. It can be a new opportunity for you if we look around and adapt to the environment.

Watch our video about the 6 lessons from 2020

Lessons from the 2020 year of the Rat

1. Entitlement vs. cherishing everyday life

There are many lessons we can learn from 2020. The first one is about entitlement. A lot of us feel entitled to have everything, including support from the government, a strong economy, a stable job, good health, freedom. But during this year, everything is being challenged. And this year, we know everything should be earned and nothing is for granted. That makes us cherish our ordinary life more. Remember the times we can just go out to restaurants, go to schools, go to parties without worrying about the virus. We did not know how lucky we were until our lives were disrupted.

2. What you see in appearance is not always true.

The second lesson I learned is that not everything is the same as the look in appearance. For example, we start to question our government, our racial justice, and the different systems we have in place. We did not really question a lot of things we see because we are so used to it. But in 2020, everything is shaken, and you start to see all the problems and issues under the surface. However, this can be a starting point for changes.

3. From old to the new ways of life

The third lesson is about the old versus the new way of doing things. After 2020 we know a lot of old structures or ideas don't work anymore. And there will be new ways of doing things and adjustments we have to adapt to.

For example, for the older generation, we always think we have to get a good education, go to a good school, find a good job in a famous corporation, and the company will take care of you for the rest of your life. Now we know that's not true anymore. And we cannot ignore the new trends, the improvement of technology, the internet, social media, and the power of individual talent and skills, and not just about the big corporation.

Again, the change is good. It opens up a lot of opportunities. And everybody can take advantage of that instead of keep acting the same old way and complaining about society or getting depressed.

4. Mother nature is powerful and unpredictable. Stay humble and go with the flow.

The next lesson I learned is that disaster can happen anytime on any scale. There is a power beyond our control. The human being can be very small compared to Mother Nature. So I feel really humbled and really cherish every day what we have right now.

5. We have blind spots and make irrational decisions sometimes.

The next lesson is that people can be really blinded, irrational, and being too emotional sometimes. We see that again and again in 2020. When people are fighting for the pandemic, many people still don't believe the pandemic is real, or Coronavirus is serious. They refuse to wear masks or keep the social distance. When you ignore science, you ignore the logic and the reality of life. Therefore, a lot of decisions will not be very smart.

I'm sure we all have blind spots that we are not even aware of. They only show up in extreme times like 2020. And this is a good chance to exam ourselves and see what we can change to improve ourselves.

6. The conflict of different groups and powers.

The number 6 is about the conflict. For example, the powerful and wealthy people versus the middle and lower class, the male and female, and different races. Are you happy with the systems and dynamics we have currently? Is there anything you feel unfair or you want to make the change? I don't really have all the answers. But we can keep an open mind and start questioning everything.

Moving forward to 2021 and beyond

So how do we move forward in 2021 and beyond? Because our environment is changing dramatically in a very short time. We cannot just follow the old ways and expect everything to be working in the future. The future is unknown, but we can face the current situation today, acknowledge what's going on, go with the flow and adjust ourselves in career, family health, education, politics, and many other aspects.

The information overload

And there's always the issue of information overload in today's world. So it's very important to be true to yourself, think for yourself, and make your own decision. Follow your own values, and be the changes you want to happen.

If you can stay humble and stay open-minded. You can be true to yourself and make the right decisions, and build a meaningful and fulfilled life. A crisis can be an opportunity and a new beginning. If we can learn from our experience, take advantage of what's trending, and meet people’s needs, we can all grow to a new level.