NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS
The end of the year is usually a time when people try to look back on an attempt to make sense of the past 365 days, to see things from a wider perspective, draw conclusions and close the chapter as we do at the end of a book just read.
Seeing things from a wider perspective is perhaps the trick that allows for coins to start dropping; it’s the moment we set a little distance from the hustle and bustle of everyday life allowing for some light to be shed on aspects we just could not see, carried away by the hectic routine of the present days.
Nobody can deny we are living days of ever faster changes and transformations. A new world, new life style, a new reality are emerging; maybe only now, 20 years after the turn of the century and the millennium, can we realise what it really feels like living in the 21st century, or in the 3rd millennium. It couldn’t be different. The so called future is not future anymore; it has become the present.
So, what now? Are we prepared for the tsunami of new trends and innovations? Are we getting ready for the unprecedented amount of tech novelties and a refreshed mindset? To what extent are we in accordance with the inevitable? Do we have a choice? Where are we going from here? I bet these and many other such questions keep popping now and again in the minds of most citizens inhabiting the planet.
Well, as I see it, perspective is everything. Looking things from distance helps to tell the right from wrong, the good from bad, the true from fake, the essential from superfluous. Then we can wonder about what really matters to us and try to clearly define our true values, values that are dear to us, values for which we fight a war if necessary. Having this clearly defined we can start thinking about what we want and what we want not in our lives, both next year and in the years ahead.
If there is an aspect I could pick as a priority for the coming year, this is us, humans, and our social nature. Our species, inhabitants of planet Earth for many millions of years, possess this essential characteristic of being social, which can define us. We are born in company, we are raised by others, we belong in groups. We create patterns of behaviour mirroring the others, our actions are either reactions to their behaviour or an attempt to provoke a reaction in them. We do not exist without our groups. But what have we been doing in order to preserve this nature? We are relying more and more on electronic devices which in theory bring us closer together, but in fact are setting us more and more apart.
It is true that by means of social media we can bond with people we wouldn’t otherwise be able to bond, people who live overseas or even in neighbouring towns… but think about the people who live next door, or even our own family, our friends, people who really matter; rarely do we listen to their voices these days, or touch their bodies, hug, laugh, have coffee together. Nobody has time, and social media is a handy time saver, or so we think. But if we just spare a second to evaluate how much time we spend on a daily basis checking our Instagram or Facebook accounts, we’ll realise time saver is something social media is not. Then why?
I wish I had an answer, but this is food for thought. Each and every one of us will certainly have a reason to choose this or that lifestyle, and these reasons will vary enormously. The end of the year is a very good time for us to put several things on scale and readjust our compasses so as to find the appropriate direction. I bet the most valuable gains are not in the destination but in the treasures we can discover on the way.
