Random Forays: New dreams, new hopes, new energy!

The advent of a new year inevitably heralds a sense of rejuvenated enthusiasm in us all, even perhaps in the most diehard of all pessimists. There is something undeniably uplifting about the newness of a nascent year despite its wintry January mornings and chilly, misty evenings. A sense of warmth and bonhomie prevails, even if in these days such warmth is available only on Instagram, WhatsApp, Linkedin and Facebook.

Meeting each other for a hot cuppa was, sadly, already an outdated trend before the pandemic. Nowadays it is an even rarer moon when friends are able to get together and celebrate the meaning of togetherness in its true sense. However, time is marching on with all of its unpredictability on display, and we just might go back to rubbing shoulders with our peers and exchanging warm hugs with our dearest friends sooner than later. Who knows?

The dawn of 2021 surely means a lot of things for humanity. Firstly, we’ve just emerged from a punishing year, perhaps indicative of a rap on the knuckles from the Almighty, for our largely unseemly behaviour during the past two decades. Secondly, technology and artificial intelligence have connected us closer together as a global family than ever before. The year2021 may well mark the beginning of invaluable partnerships across domains and geographies facilitated adeptly by such high-end connectivity. Thirdly, most people in their middle years have begun to realise that life is not meant to be a slam bang affair. Calmness, meditation, love, family bonding, emotional intelligence, faith and resilience might just turn out to be the key words that the modern human being needs to bank upon in the years to come. And fourthly, people have hopefully understood that leaders of nations and organisations had better show some mettle as well as some sensitivity if they are to continue in the saddle.

Learning and moving on is what life is about. There is no place for stagnant minds, no room for lethargic ways. Change is the only constant and our existence is linked to our adaptability as well as our collective conduct as a global population.

The nightingale sings mellifluously and with fervour even though it is unsure of the future, basking only in the happiness of the moment. Human beings think too much. We conjure up all sorts of crazy scenarios in the mind which may never come true but which scare the wits out of us, since we keep dwelling on them continually. Worry is a brake, said the saint. Birds and animals live for the day, yet they know how to nurture their young and keep their flock together. Overthinking would do them no good, and it does us no good either!

A new year gives us the opportunity to refresh and renew. To reignite and reimagine. It is as if a new innings has begun and however badly we fared in the previous one, we can take fresh guard and buckle down to play the foremost knock of our lives.

Indeed, the problems of each year make themselves evident with the passing weeks. And our rejuvenated consciousness begins to feel the burden of uncertainties and setbacks. We start awaiting the next year already, without understanding that the present moment actually presents us with the best chance to make a mark by dint of sheer will power and unflagging doggedness.

The elderly tend to look back with missed feelings at the years gone by. Their grandchildren, those bundles of unalloyed joy, bring out their giggles, but many a tear erupts in the old eye at the thought of what life could have been.

On the other hand, the young of 2021 are aspirational but under severe pressure from their families to perform or perish. They need to take heart from the roller coaster lives of those who have succeeded before them. A smooth life is not a successful life, said the saint, after all. Only after many setbacks and failures, comes true success.

‘Tis the time to renew our dreams, then. The time to look ahead with hope, and move ahead with fortitude and momentum. A time to draw upon the universe’s boundless energy and to shine brighter than ever before.

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