Where do we go from here?

My thoughts as of January 1st, 2021

2020 just passed me by. It started off with lofty ambitions before nosediving and finally settling itself on a precarious cliff. The sights from the cliff are beautiful, the light on the horizon is magnificent but there's danger and harrowing depths all around this cliff. I don't know how we got here and have to figure out where to go from here. I share this confusion, this lack of direction and the same precarious situation with billions of others around the globe.

For the first time in a long long time we had a year which united us. We were:

United in our confinement
United in having our lives stalled mid-way
United in our inability to chase our dreams
United in our frustrations
United in our solitude

I never knew misery could unite us the way no happiness or victory ever did.

But if we put the misery aside for a moment, aren't we fundamentally all lucky to at least have a roof on our heads while this pandemic rages on?

What about those of us who have a job while there are many highly talented and qualified candidates out there with no means to earn a livelihood?

Do we just spend our time counting our blessings during these horrendous series of lockdowns?

Where do we go from here? (Courtesy: Antoine Da Cunha)

If wrestling with the above questions was not enough, I was also wrestling with a series of reflections that struck me during my (first) lockdown days. I will try my best to put them down here:

Today I am not as sure as before

Today I feel a lot less formidable

Today I ache not too much for the future

Today I shall quit thinking of what I deserve

Today I resolve to be a bit more humane

As life ground to a halt, the answers could no longer be found outside. They laid within. Irrespective of what I expected from life, life was expecting me to give a better account of myself. It expected better thoughts from me, better actions from me and better behavior from me. It expected me to be a better and a more considerate human being. It reminded me that in order to receive you have to give and this was my time to give. Give back to those who supported me and give back to life just by being positive and taking each day as it comes.

I couldn't argue with that takeaway which would come handy where ever life takes me next. What are your takeaways from the year gone by? Do share!

Until Next Time,

Your Life Analyst,

Chaitanya J.J.

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