As we close the darkest chapter of 2020 in our life, let us remember that nothing can be taken for granted
A year that had turned the gold of flourishing life into the dust of fear and uncertainty has got itself buried in history with the sun setting last on 31 December with the sky looking like a carnivorous flower in the background. Now everyone expects 2020 to be chained permanently in a dungeon of forgetfulness without remorse and resurrection in the future. Worse than a Shakespearean catharsis, last year was a bolt from the blue for almost all the living souls. The dawn of 2021 shows hope and light at the end of the tunnel as the cure for Covid-19 in the form of a vaccine promises an experience of a satori moment every now and then for all and sundry.
As the New Year rolls out a red carpet to homo sapiens it is customary for many to make New Year resolutions. Resolutions are nothing but promises that many people make to themselves at the fag-end of the old year. People make resolutions with eyes that are beaming with spring morning sun rays and a smile as invigorating as a live fountain in a dry desert land just to usher in a sense of renewal and hope in the New Year.
The origin of making New Year’s resolutions rests with the Babylonians, who reportedly made promises to the gods in hopes they’d earn good favour in the coming year. They often resolved to get out of debt so that they could live a more comfortable life. The promise to do or not to do something is the rock-solid core of any resolution. Making more than one resolution something runs parallel to the Russian proverb that says “if you chase two rabbits you will not catch either one”
Although the research shows that eighty percent of the resolutions made at the beginning of the New Year meet the waterloo before materialising, yet it is up to an individual to make it a habit to keep it. It takes approximately 66 days for a habit to become automatic.
2020 has been a year not like any other. So, there are many lessons to be learned by all from the last year before making any new resolutions. Nothing is permanent, except change. Promises cannot be fulfilled without a change within oneself. The media mogul Oprah Winfrey said, “We can’t become what we need to be by remaining what we are.”
As we close the darkest chapter of 2020 in our life, let us remember that nothing can be taken for granted at our whims and fancies, that life is too precious and too short to harbour any ill feelings, jealousy and hatred towards others, that a well of riches cannot quench the thirst of unfulfilled dreams of happiness, that the sinking Titanic of broken relationships can only sail again if misunderstanding and love are repaired, that in the stormy tempest of our life only the lighthouse of prayer can take us to the shore of safety, that a pinch of love, perseverance, complacency, hope, kindness, humility, and positivity are the spices we need to add in 2021 to make our life ambrosial and delectable.
(The writer is a Commerce and Law graduate, Goan writer and Goa State Youth Awardee)
