It feels really good to say goodbye to 2020 and welcome the new year with a fresh perspective and a meaningful list of resolutions. It’s impossible not to be bewildered with such a fantastic turn of events, that feels bizarrely close to a sci-fi movie.
There’s a scene in The Fifth Element (1997) directed by Luc Besson, when Milla Jovovich’s character learns about the history of humankind and cries. With costume design by Jean Paul Gaultier, she embodies a pure being with whom we can all connect with.
Looking at the current state of affairs, from all the different types of inequality still prevalent in the world, which have a domino effect across so many areas, to the careless attitude about climate change and our planet, the immensity of it all can be overpowering.
It’s hard to understand a world where single individuals have a net worth of billions of dollars while others struggle to survive, where most citizens pay their taxes while the super wealthy use tax havens…
"The world has enough for everyone's needs, but not everyone's greed.” Mahatma Gandhi
The Queen speech this year was all about praising and acknowledging heroes, those people who show their best when things get tough. Even though it’s easy to fall into despair by looking at where we are at, the best approach is definitely to look for inspiring people like Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.
The heyday of BBC’s reporting seems to be gone, but last year it published the story of “a boss who put everyone on 70k”. It was really interesting to read about the profound impact Dan Price had on the lives of his staff due to his generosity.
With so many people dying each day and when we all resemble Tom Hardy in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises (2012), this could be a good opportunity to make an irreversible decision to emulate our heroes, whoever they may be, and become the best version of ourselves.
This requires a surgeon precision to dissect our life: how we shop, eat, talk, chill, work… Are we kind to ourselves? To others? And the environment? If not, could we do anything to change it?
It’s worth going beyond our usual New Year’s resolutions and focus on three achievable goals based on these open questions. Happy New Year!
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