A new year is underway. Traditionally we all gaze into the future with dewy eyed optimism of better days than those that we have in our rear view mirror but perhaps not this year. I am somewhat confident that the mantra “Better Days Ahead”still remains in whispered tones but likely as more of a tentative question than a matter of fact statement as we face suffocating levels of recession, mandated “back to the office”, continued global political unrest and the ongoing criminal assault on the Ukraine (which is somehow responsible for the worldwide supply chain issues, regardless of whether your product is domestic or foreign).
It is the usual story of course, as we make decisions on where we can cut back or completely do without while many of the large corporations are still posting juicy profits. The Federal Revenue Agencies are attempting to slow the recession by raising interest rates, which means that the large percentage of individuals that had turned to their credit cards as a (albeit unwise) method to gap the distance between the shrinking value of their pay checks against the rising cost of everyday expenses now face larger minimum payments. The foot steps of rising interest rates also suggest the rhetorical question of how many raises or how long before families that were already living with their back against the wall start throwing their house keys back at the bank ?
We were all so happy to be “past” the COVID pandemic and get back into the world and see other humans than the ones that were locked in with for the last three years that we never imagined that we would be stranded with them again, only this time it would be on foreign shores as a few airlines abandoned them at the end of or on the way to their well needed vacations.
Covid never did really leave us. It just continued to reinvent itself with new complex names and/or strains. I feel that it has been around long enough (and the majority of have been vaccinated and boosted and boostered) that there is now a general indifference or numbness towards this disease. It has not only become a part of our everyday life it has changed many aspects of how we function.
We are also now facing a crisis in our health care industry as there was an exodus of exhausted practitioners that opted for early retirements or just an escape from the suffocation of the last three years.
Through all of this motivational swamp there is a bit of sunshine. As the saying goes “Every cloud has a silver lining” and the lining here seems to be that there is more of the good stuff in the air these days.
I sense a resurgence in common decency, empathy and help your fellow man behaviour. I find that when I am out in my little world, people have once again learned how to be patient and more understanding. We have learned to appreciate each other again and be more kind to strangers and as we continue to crave human contact. I personally have found the a warm smile and outstretched helping hand is less rare than I remember prior to the arrival of COVID.
These are all great seeds to sew for what could turn out to be a promising year. It may mean that we find joy in less monetary items and activities. When we do spend any of those very precious, discretionary coins, it will be on creating life experiences and special memories. Let’s also be hopeful that after having three years of staring into the blue screens in our sometimes desperate quest for human contact that we recognize that we can put them down and reach out to friends, family and neighbours in the real world.
In closing, keep it simple because simple really does work. Throw in some of that good stuff (love, understanding, empathy, faith and compassion) and we can all come together to make this a great year.
That is my wish for you