Every year I make it a habit to begin the new year with a blog post which looks forward. This year I will attempt to do the same whilst also reflecting on the year that was. I have to admit that on one hand 2022 felt like a blur, but also a lot happened within the space of 12 months. The year also felt like the first time since the onset of COVID-19 in 2020 that we were relatively free. The year saw more and more easing restrictions as we fitted back into the pace of ‘normal life’. We have come out the other side but somehow life feels inherently different to what it did before.
I have to hope that we have learnt the lessons that we needed to from the pandemic. That it has made us value our health and our loved ones, as well as, reducing our never ending commitment to consumerism. I would hope that the effects of the global pandemic have made us feel more connected, have taught us the importance of never taking anything for granted and provided us with a renewed sense of humanity. The way that our re-emergence has played out on the global stage however has been anything but that. It feels like conflict was just put on pause during the pandemic and since we’ve emerged on the other side, humanity has been making up for lost time. The conflict in Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan–Tajikistan clashes, Australian and US stand-offs with China and all the countless others indicate that we haven’t come out the other side of the pandemic any wiser than previously.
I get the feeling that every day people in general have also emerged angrier, as if the past 2 years have been used to stew on all their grievances and now out in the wild, the smallest things will set them off. It does feel like we have lost those connection points that united us through all those lockdowns. We’ve lost that sense of making personal sacrifices for the collective good. We seem to have so easily slipped back into protecting number one; ourselves, and hence all of the ills of individualism have flooded back into society.
As I sit here on the 3rd of January 2023 I just want to look forward to the year ahead and remind people to consistently call on their sense of hope and of humanity. I ask that we continue to be kinder to each other and that we practise empathy. We know that this year is not going to be easy. As inflation hits hard and interest rates continue to rise, more and more of us are going to struggle. We are going to have to dig very deep in order to remain hopeful and keep ourselves going without dragging ourselves into depressive states. Some of us will struggle to feed our families or pay the rent or the mortgage. Some of us will default on our loans, will need to take up second jobs and will stagger tired and hopeless throughout the year. But what I ask of us collectively is to remember and call on our kindness. I ask us to be kind to ourselves, to support each other and be patient with each other.
This year, like all new years, is a chance to start fresh. It gives us the opportunity to hit that reset button and be more intentional about our thoughts, actions and words over the coming months. I look forward to 2023 with some trepidation but with the unyielding commitment to practise gratitude, patience and empathy; and to be kind to people. I call on all of you to do the same.
To 2023…
I blog for Change. 