Novus annus

Yahoo! It’s the end of the current year and soon, the beginning of a new one! The changes, the new opportunities, the improvements!  We’ve all been programed to believe in a “reset” at this time of the year, where all that we’ve done less well will be done better. 

We’ll exercise, eat better, rest more, party more, get out more, pitch in more, we’ll be more positive, more empathic, more attentive, more of what’s been too little of, and less of what’s been too much.  Yet, deep down, (or maybe right under the surface), we all know that, for the most part, we will conduct ourselves in exactly the same manner as in the last 365 days, largely due to the fact that, for most of us, there isn’t much wiggle room for any significant change.  We have to toe the line like most other people, because that is basically what we have allowed our existence to become over the last couple of centuries.  Now were way better at lying to ourselves, with the aid of much marketing.  But I’m not pointing fingers, as intelligent beings we have to do whatever is necessary to survive on this planet, in this “system” we’ve been born into.  But at least we have that, most of us, because as always there are many of us for whom this time of year is the worst of times.  

  But let’s pretend that we’ve been pumping coins into a slot machine all these. years and we’re due for a jackpot.  Who knows, eventually there will be a winner, other than the usual suspects that thrive on the system they created.  Actually, if we, as a collective, actually began to make good the promises we make to ourselves and others, that would definitely change the dynamic.  When we keep our word, especially when it’s personal, it makes us feel proud.  This pride is a high we want to keep around.  Positive things are what we all need, so, for once, let’s keep our word and not make promises that we never really plan on making good, even if we kind of mean the at the time.  These are more like wishes, and although wishes can come true, they’re nothing more than things we choose to say, with the knowledge that it’s just a word without consequence.  Who knows, maybe in 2025 governments will realize that things will go much more smoothly if no one was left out, no matter what their social standing.  Maybe ‘opportunity for all’ will be more than a catch phrase.  Maybe corporations will finally sit down and admit that more business and more profits year after year is not the way to fulfilment, or even admit that greed has nothing to do with fulfilment.  Maybe people who produce everything we count on to survive will actually get a fair share for their labour without the average person feeling it in their pocket.  How about if leaders admitted that education would actually be for the betterment of our minds and also geared towards helping us get along on our own.  

  This is the path I chose to follow this holiday season.  I chose to hope, (against all odds), that there will be brighter, more peaceful days ahead.  I chose to go this way because the alternative is not healthy.  We have to be aware of what’s going on around us, but equally, we have to confront this with an open, healthy mind.  I heard a long time ago that a mind is a terrible thing to waste, so let’s not fall victim to this disease.

 I sincerely hope for, and expect, a better year ahead for all of us.

Fiquem bem,

Raul Freitas/MS