There are plenty of words I could use to finish that sentence (2009 was bizarre. 2009 was topsy-turvy. 2009 was ridiculous. 2009 was harrowing. See?), but instead I'm going to talk about a phrase that came up with almost dizzying frequency this year.
"It is What it Is."
It's a loaded sentence, if you really think about it. From one perspective, it encapsulates the whole Serenity Prayer in five little words. It acknowledges that we can't always be in control, that we can't know what's to come or how we'll necessarily react to those unknowns.
On the other hand, it's also kind of a cop-out. It's the way we verbally shrug our shoulders, tell ourselves and whomever's listening that we've given up. That we have no more energy for the fight.
I think it was sometime in July that the profound conflict in those twelve letters, those otherwise inconsequential words, threw me for a loop. I started counting how often I said the phrase, and how often I heard it.
Would you believe me if I told you that in ONE WEEK, seven different people used that phrase a total of 18 times? I won't even tell you how often I caught myself midway through that now-God-awful cliché.
"It is what it is" has come to symbolize the overwhelming greatness and awfulness that 2009 has been. The whole year has been a paradox of accomplishments and failures, delightful surprises and abject disappointments, daydreams and nightmares. And yes, it's been a lesson in the difference between giving up and letting go.
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This post is part of Gwen Bell's "Best of 2009 Challenge"