My wish list for 2020: Let’s talk more, ask for help and be the change
Our editors share their thoughts on 2020 and what it looks like through their viewfinder
Drawing up a wish list at the start of a year almost feels like an exercise in futility. Should one use the platform to lament against the Draconian notions that continue to dictate society or respond in polished perfection, much like a factory produced pageant hopeful? World peace, anyone?
For the sake of this piece though, we will keep cynicism at bay to draw up a three-point wish list that, in a small, organic way, spells hope for humanity at the dawn of a new decade.
Let’s talk more: I’ve forgotten how many friends have fallen wayside ever since instant messaging became the lingo of the millennials. For Xennials (or the lost generation) such as myself, who grew up analog in an ever-expanding digital world, the concept of the human touch still very much exists. We somehow laughed with abandon, played in the dirt with ill-concealed glee. And we talked… spending hours hiding under our blankets with the cord of the land line snaking its way from our cramped beds. Maybe, speaking hours today on our cell phones isn’t conducive to our growing monthly expenses, but at least let’s find the time to say ‘hello’ once again.
Ask for help: 2020 is bound to be a milestone year for achievers in medicine, technology and innovation. For this writer, the success is very organic. It will be 10 years since she crawled out of the black hole called depression. Today, even as we embrace the shroud of immunity while typing out headlines of that name yet another celebrity succumbing to the darkness, there’s a small vulnerable part that still feels the feelings. The stigma surrounding mental health is just as toxic as it was a decade ago. Haven’t enough lives been martyred to the cause? Isn’t it time we toss away the societal shackles that bind shame to this illness and do the obvious thing – just ask for help? Shame should be an emotion reserved for those who dare to judge.
Be the change: Greta Thunberg’s is one voice in the sea of alarmists that is beating a drum that should ideally resonate across oceans. Simply put: we are slowly, but surely, killing our planet. The time to stand on the sidelines as a silent observer is long past. Either get on board and be the change or world peace may soon be a chapter we will read about in history books.