First Day of the New Year
Yes, it is January 1st here in sunny - if a bit breezy - New Zealand. I'm not sure wishing for a 'Happy' new year is quite the thing in these times. 2020 started with a hiss and a roar and great hopes quickly dashed by the spread of Covid. 2021 arrived promising lots of potential with vaccination being available and here, in New Zealand proving that keeping the world out kept the death rate down to almost negligible, compared to other countries. Now we are heading into 2022 and what do we expect that to bring? Another viral mutation? A definitive cure? A return to 'normal', whatever that is? I'm not clever enough to guess, but I imagine that some things are going to remain in place for possibly years to come. Masks and social distancing are necessary, not just because of covid, but to avoid all those other nasties like head colds and flu. I'm not sorry to have avoided a common head cold as they usually turn into an upper chest infection or laryngitis, never a nice experience. I'm quite happy and comfortable using online shopping for the few things I need - I always spent too much money on things I didn't really need before, but on the downside, I'm not contributing as much to charitable organizations as I used to. I am finally making some serious inroads into paying down my debt load which is great but also becoming more physically, socially isolated with trips out only made for a once-a-week shopping trip, and every second day trip to the local pools for exercise. Not exactly gadding about, and all occasions outside the house require being masked up and distanced. What I ask of 2022 is less of the dissension over the vaccinations - if you're waiting for God to save you, he already has by having the boffins come up with a vaccine, so stop faffing about and get the jab! If you're saying that mask mandates impinge on your' rights' - stop being a selfish entitled nitwit and just get the jab and think of someone other than yourself for once. We live in a world where most of us get to live to a ripe old age because of the childhood vaccinations that protected us from the worse that a variety of viruses tried to kill or maim us with - smallpox, measles, chickenpox, mumps, not to mention those that protected the travelers to distant parts. I am thankful that many of us have access to the knowledge and medical expertise that produced these vaccines, including the current ones, meaning I have no patience for those, not including anyone who has a true medical reason for not being able to be vaccinated, who make a lot of noise about their 'rights' and do little to help or add a solution. Put all that righteous energy into helping the less fortunate, help out in feeding others or providing shelters, write letters to members of parliament to change the laws that don't protect women and children or the elderly from abuse and violence, protest about those issues, put your selfish entitlement energy into our planet and surviving the coming effects of climate change, go around your own neighborhood and pick up the rubbish before it gets into the waterways or kills the local wildlife.
Do something for somebody who is not related to you, do something good with no expectation of reward or financial gain....
If we want 2022 to be better then take a hard look at ourselves, at yourself and make that change.
I will be.