In the future, we’ll look back at 2023 and recall a year that went by like a blink—and yet somehow felt like a long, did that really happen?
It was
the year the pandemic was officially declared “over” by the World Health
Organization.
The
explosion of Oceangate captured our collective attention and shook the world.
Wildfires
in Australia amplified concerns about global warming
This year saw the Israel-Palestine conflict grown into a
full-blown war in Gaza following the Hamas attacks on Israel cities.
This added another ongoing conflict to the geopolitical
landscape, which had been watching with concern the war in Ukraine.
On February 6, Turkey woke up to a devastating earthquake
measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale. According to estimates, about 14 million
people were affected and nearly 60,000 deaths were reported.
This April, India surpassed China to become the world's most
populous country. Is India going to have its demographic dividend as a boon or
bane?
Ethnic violence erupted in Manipur and over 180 people
have been killed in violent clashes between the Meities and Kuki-Zo
communities.
On June 2, as many as 296 people were killed in a train
accident in Odisha of Coromandel Express derailed after a collision with a
stationery goods train.
On November 12, when the nation lit up to celebrate Diwali,
41 construction workers were trapped inside an under-construction tunnel in
Uttarakhand. They were safely rescued after 16 days of captivity.
Shocking scenes played out inside Lok Sabha on December 13
when two intruders deployed coloured smoke canisters and jumped from desk to
desk, put the security of the most important Cabinet of the country at risk.
Finally, as we are reading this, we are still recovering from
the after effects of cyclone Michaung. Tamil Nadu, experienced days of
heavy rains ahead of the storm. And Heavy rainfall continues across
several districts in Tamil Nadu, causing floods and disruptions.
The
months felt like weeks and the days felt like hours
And yet.
Even on the constant brink of turmoil, humanity did what it does best.
From
cultural phenomena to geopolitical shifts, each story is a brush stroke in the
picture of events that captivated our attention this year and united us as
well.
As
we are about to wind up this year, we all tend to look forward—that’s why New Year’s
resolutions are
a big thing. We are looking forward for the coming year because we’re excited
for what is ahead, but we don’t always like to look back.
Looking
back can be messy because we have to acknowledge where we fell short. If we
skip this step, however, we miss out on valuable insights.
If
we just look forward, we won’t get any better. we’ll just keep getting stuck in
the same patterns over and over.
As
we’re gathering information from the past experiences, look for strengths and
weaknesses. There are likely places where we fell short and could be at risk of
having the same thing happen in the coming year.
Release
any of the negativity that we might have. Find out what you can learn from it.
Then
highlight the good that we did. We rarely celebrate ourselves; we usually focus
on faults.
What
are we really proud of that we accomplished?
What
worked that we would like to continue to do going forward?
As
you review your year, create three lists:
·
things
that are important for you to change going forward,
·
things
that are important to keep the same because they worked well
·
things
to let go of entirely
To sum up all that we have been through and to prepare ourselves
to forge ahead in the coming year, my catch phrase would be HOPE
Hope can erode when we perceive threats to our
way of life, and these days, plenty are out there.
Harvard’s researchers examined the impact of hope
on nearly 13,000 people with an average age of 66. They found those with more
HOPE throughout their lives had better physical health, better health
behaviours, better social support and a longer life.
Hope is the essence of life. Life is
unpredictable, hard and quite notorious at times. Things go out of hand and
beyond of our control many times. Hope helps us keep the fight on and improves
the chances of making ours as well as others’ lives better.
I know it’s very hard keeping up with the inner
faith during the most critical times, but, those who never leave hope, actually
make it till the end.
Hope is a belief. You believe something good will
happen. The intensity of this feeling can really change your present and
future.
Hope gives a positive mind power. It generates an
aura around you which protects you from the negatives. This is why; hope will
always be the essence of life.
Let’s have a Hope filled year ahead, Thank you 2023 and Welcome
2024.
