The air was rife with excitement. At least 6,000 people, if not more, had gathered patiently for hours inside and outside the green island near the building which has since been unveiled as the tallest structure in the world.
To my fascinated eyes, Dubai was celebrating the holiday season all over again, when the Burj Khalifa was lit up like an 828-metre Christmas tree and thousands gasped and clapped with child-like wonder as the night sky was filled with sound, light and smoke.
A tingling chill went down my spine as I watched the building move from an eerie towering inferno to a blazing tower of hope.
Why hope you may ask? Well, it was what I saw in the faces of the swarms of people who had gathered; some of them from three o'clock in the afternoon occupying balconies, parks, rooftops even the Metro bridge in the hope of being the first to get an eyeful of another wondrous, eventful moment in the city that we all know well and love immensely.
Yes, we moan when the traffic is bad, when we can't get a taxi, when someone is rude or simply believes he/she is above the law. Seriously however, is it really all that bad or are we just exercising our human condition? So, name me one city in the world where you and I would never have cause to complain and I would literally spend the rest of my life singing its praises.
Yes, the nay-sayers (there are plenty of them among us) will take one glance at this blog and accuse me of selling out to the Dubai dream and my reply would simply be; if this place keeps me and my family safe, employed, hopeful, happy, friendly, dazzled, warm, well-fed, clothed, humane and normal, then thank you for the compliment. It is quite obvious that if I were miserable here, no security gate would lock me in.
The last year has been tough and while there has been pain and suffering for many, in the balance there has been joy and laughter. We learned to take ourselves less seriously, learned serious lessons from living beyond our means, understood that there's a time for receiving and a time for giving and most of all we've learned to develop a thick skin especially since the world that loved us for who we are is now trying to tear us down.
My wish for all of you is to have an abundant 2010. One of abundant joy, peace, prosperity and most of all love…. for yourself, your family, your friends and colleagues, your fellow men and women, and for Dubai.
