As we are closing out the calendar year 2023, for millions, it may have been an exciting year, while for millions of others, it might have been a bizarre year faced with financial and health issues and crises arising from new and expanding conflicts.
While some of us may have become more confident as the days passed, many of us have not due to various challenges with varied velocities! I believe it won't be entirely wrong to say that the year has been another testing one in many different ways!
Although the Covid-19 pandemic has come much closer to a controlled level, it is still lingering with its different variants. People are suffering from long-term Covid, which is considered a post-acute infection syndrome with a series of debilitating symptoms lasting months or years.
Adding to an already complicated life are the wars and conflicts in different regions. Syria, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Yemen, Afghanistan, Ukraine, or the latest Gaza — the world is scarred by violence.
Heart-wrenching visuals of the cries of innocent people and bloodshed are flooding social media and TV screens as the entire world once again witnesses the waves of trauma and distress that wars bring to humanity.
What happens to those people when the war ends or does not end? Where do they flee? Where do they go to secure their basic needs?
According to UN estimates, the number of displaced people due to wars is at a record high. In 2022, the number of people forcibly displaced by persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations, and events seriously disturbing public order grew by 21 per cent standing at an estimated 108.4 million at the end of the year.
Right now, reports indicate that nearly one-third of the world is food insecure, with over 828 million people going to bed hungry each night. More than 149 million children experience stunted growth and development due to a chronic lack of essential nutrients.
Even though New Year's Eve and the celebratory moment when the clock strikes midnight will be celebrated in different parts of the world, what we all need is some motivation and pep talk to keep each other's spirits high.
With over eight billion people on the planet Earth, the months, weeks, and days that we all have are the same, but the experience each one of us has is entirely different.
Nobody else is responsible for what we do in our lives. The future to come is ours; what is about to come from today on is ours, and we are the architects of our lives, our success, our happiness, our relationships, or our career. At the same time, we cannot satisfy all, nor can we be in the good books of all.
For me, the years since I was struck by the coronavirus have helped me understand my strengths and my self-proclaimed corner, which proved my presence to be much beyond what I had thought it to be. I was full of anxiety when I retired from my job in July 2022.
Of course, retiring from work is a major life change that can bring stress as well as benefits! It teaches a lot about one’s self and the need for resilience. Like everyone else, I’ve had my ups and downs, but my energy and positivity remain buoyant.
No matter the number of highs and lows in 2023, we are looking at 2024 as a year filled with hope, opportunities, and positivity.
Away from all the negativity and bad memories of the past, all we now need is some hope, positivity, and cheer to have a fresher outlook and make new beginnings in 2024.
I wish all Observer readers, my near and dear, a very happy, prosperous, and peaceful New Year filled with joy, harmony, peace, and good health. Happy New Year! Make it the best one yet!
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