I usually sleep after midnight but on New Year’s eve, I dozed off at 11:00 pm. I was brutally woken up by loud wailing. It took a moment to realize it was people shouting, hooting, and celebrating from balconies in our gated community to usher in 2022. The jubilation still sounded like wailing to me!
I lay half-awake thinking the word to describe this cacophony is “lament.” Even the bursting of firecrackers could not shake off this thought. At one point it became eerie. Maybe it was the memory of gloom and despair playing on my mind. When you know a large part of the world is hurting and fearful, the dread seeps in to our lives. How we perceive the world around us depends on our inner state.
Each one to their own. The optimists do make our world better and keep alive hope but 2021 was cruel. The cheerful and the inherently happy bring a much-needed emotional balance. The New Year 2022 starts as a reflection of the past 2 years, with similar events unfolding. It is as if we are stuck in an endless cycle. In 2022, many lost loved ones and suffered emotionally and financially. Last night for every cheer there was a tear, somewhere, and this is a realization that stayed with me. This is a humbling thought and even in the background of sadness, it fills me with gratitude. Hope and gratitude remain the driving force for another circumambulation around the sun.
Blue Pen Strokes 