Random Forays | Making 2025 a year to remember

As the tide of time rolls on, and while each one of us gears up for whatever unpredictability the new year may unfurl, it is time to take a really deep breath and pause to think. Reflection and introspection are utterly under-utilised tools and there’s much to be said about upping the ante in these spheres. By diving deeper into our own mindsets and even by raising the perspective of our own consciousness, we can probably obtain a deeper as well as a bird’s eye insight into where we’re truly headed.

The onset of every new year is a god sent opportunity for pondering, mulling, mindfulness and pausing, as also for recharging oneself. If we are really determined to make a “match” of this life, we have to make course corrections along the way. After all, no one is perfect. Improvements and enhancements are always feasible, however lofty the heights that one may have scaled. And if life has been unfair, unkind and a struggle of sorts, every new year bestows humanity and each one of its members the chance to re-breathe, re-energise and refurbish. It is the time to determinedly raise our own life levels and our wherewithal to handle the inevitable challenges that lie ahead.

Those who are fortunate to be comfortable with life’s basics, and with good health as well as doting families, can actually do much for those who are not. Empathy for others makes us human beings of substance. Youngsters who have already embarked on campaigns of social change or redressal of societal issues, are likely to find that the universe is uninhibitedly kind to them. And those who have already made it big, or have raked in the moolah, would do well to share some of their fortune with the much less privileged. Actually, it is often our inclination to offer a patient ear to someone in need, and our understanding of the less lucky ones in our own ecosystem, which makes us far more helpful to mankind, than just by being donors.

Anger management, worry management, stress management and other such modern goals are worthy of pursuing in the new year too, for they lead to greater harmony and improved mental health all around. Sports and physical fitness activities, which are often an ephemeral part of new year resolutions, actually lead to substantial enhancement of mental well being as well. Overthinking, which is easily the most glaring bane of this era, can be reduced by taking up regular meditation by following any scientific path. Several kinds of stresses can be reduced by adopting creative therapies, like art therapy, writing therapy and dance movement therapy. If these life enhancing pursuits are taken up in the new year by busy individuals who could not find time for them in times gone by, their whole existence will become much more pleasurable and healthful.

Plus, we simply have to indulge in more conversations in 2025 and beyond. People have ceased to be natural conversationalists. Texting is not the equivalent of talking! Social media self-regulation has been harped upon by this columnist ad infinitum, but still needs to be hammered into modern minds, including mine! When are we going to diminish screen time and enhance our conversational interactions, if not now, with a really enormous effort, when the wheel of time is bringing upon us a brand new year?

There’s something special about the cusp of changing calendars that in any case brings hope to humanity. Those who are ill or have suffered recent losses, may not be able to generate that spark of hope within themselves immediately. But even they will be able to, by and by, hopefully emerge from whatever blows the hammer of father time has dealt them.

And young ones from all fields of endeavour like Gukesh Dommaraju, Yashaswi Jaiswal, Neeraj Chopra, Manu Bhaker, all Olympians, emerging musicians, as well as bright young achievers from varied fields, can serve as inspirational role models for the rest of our society. Inspiration need not come only from the past, but can be found in the laughter of a naughty child or the glorious glow of a blooming flower, after all. The new year is nigh. It’s time to fly more high!

vivek.atray@gmail.com