How do you feel about celebrating? If you are like me and most of the people I know, you probably enjoy it. However, as much as we like celebrating, sometimes it can be challenging. We might feel like people are having a tough time these days, and it’s not appropriate to celebrate. We might be tempted to wait until tomorrow when “things” might be better.
While it may seem counterintuitive, celebrating when things are hard can literally transform our experience of being alive. Why? Because it’s hard to celebrate without feeling gratitude.
Regardless of what’s going on in our lives right now, we have much to celebrate and be grateful for. If nothing else, we can celebrate the fact that we’ve made it to this point in life! And, as Oprah Winfrey says, “The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.”
Here at Signature Magazine we work hard each month to find positive, joyous stories about the Pine Belt to bring to you. Some months flow easily and some months it is frankly a struggle. It was a joy this month.
You’ve waited a long time to at last find out who the winners are for the 2020 Best of the Pine Belt awards. There is something so special about a community coming together to celebrate all of the people and businesses that make it unique. You certainly did your part, voting a total of 370,966 times. I think that is phenomenal for a community of our size!
We held out, thinking that some sort of group celebration would be a possibility. When it became apparent that it would be time to vote for 2021 before we could safely get together, we made the decision to move forward with the announcements. We are disappointed that we couldn’t have a party to celebrate this year, but we’re also already planning a spectacular event for next year.
Along with the Best of the Pine Belt winners, we have chosen several first responders to highlight this month. I can’t think of a group more deserving of recognition, especially in today’s complicated climate. You’re going to love these stories about some extraordinary people.
Welcome to “The Recognition Issue.” We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed putting it together.
