Happy New Year!
2025? Let's do this!
It's hard to believe that we've come to the end of another year, but time is an unrelenting force that marches on despite our best efforts to slow its pace or deny its power.
I live in a country where we follow the Gregorian calendar. The 1st of January represents a fresh start - a tradition dating back to pre-Christian Rome when the 1st of January was dedicated to Janus, god of gateways and beginnings.
The end of one year and the beginning of the next may be an arbitrary unit of measurement, but time matters, words have power, Janus has two faces - he looks both to the past and the future.
How will we remember 2024? Let's be honest, it wasn't great, but that's nothing new.
The last few years seem to have been an unrelenting shit-show - a string of reminders that making plans for the future is a bit of a futile exercise.
Will 2025 be a step forward? It's feeling unlikely. It's difficult to try and step into a new year with any optimism when we're dragging a lot of unresolved baggage with us. It's really unclear how things will get better in the months ahead - in fact, it feels almost inevitable that things will get worse.
Wishing everyone Happy New Year and boldly proclaiming that 2025 holds the prospect of us being 'happy' seems wildly optimistic. But there is something about human nature that takes comfort in blind optimism.
One of the founding principles of the Royal Marine Commandos is "cheerfulness in the face of adversity". It describes how you can find resilience in humour - that keeping a positive mindset in tough times helps you to navigate the chaos and trauma around you. Giving up isn't an option - we have to find a way to move forward.
Sometimes that can feel a bit like an impossible task. Particularly when so much of the chaos and trauma is created by factors beyond our control.
Ultimately, every day that passes is a reminder that what really matters are the people in your life - your friends, your family, your lovers. Spending time with the people you love and enjoying those moments is ultimately the only thing that makes sense in this crazy, mixed-up world that we live in.
Time marches on, and so must we. Resilient, cheerful in the face of adversity, let's make the most of what lies ahead.
2025? Bring it.
