EOY 2022

2022 was a challenging year, to say the least: both on a global level with the remnants of a pandemic with all its consequences for the lives of people as well as the economy, with a war raging in Europe, and all the big and small catastrophes that may make it into the evening news, as well as on a personal level, with my dog Mika passing away, health issues to deal with, a lost job, getting Covid, and all the big and small catastrophes that definitely don’t make it into the evening news. 

I am tempted to call this year a shitshow beyond compare. But that, at least on a personal level, wouldn’t do it justice. I refuse to surrender to the feeling of hopelessness that comes with focusing on all the bad things. They do exist, and they do affect my life big time, but they are not the only things that matter. 

So I tried to look back at this year and focus on the positive parts. And I didn’t even have to look far to find them. I am proud, happy and grateful to have taken up learning to sketch and paint, to have dealt with the loss of my dog, to have started tackling some health issues, to have traveled to Venice, to have taken hard, but necessary decisions, to have quit smoking, to have met inspiring new people, to have been brave for so many times this year.

I am not the biggest fan of ‘positivity’ as the main focus in life. By now, everybody probably knows that positivity can easily get toxic. Like, ignoring the bad things that happen all around would lead to a standstill: nothing can change for the better if people don’t take action against injustice (or even just annoyances) – and they can’t take action if they don’t see what is happening. 

Yes, I tend to see the negative more than the positive. It’s all the more necessary to look at and acknowledge what is good in your own life. Especially in times of crisis. With the year 2022 coming to a close, I’ll also lose my job of more than 10 years soon. This ending has me wondering what or who I will be after that. It’s a challenge that scares me as I don’t yet know what will come after that. But that uncertainty also means that there will be so many new opportunities. I am not too worried, but of course, this matter concerns me. I hope that I can  tackle this challenge in 2023 and that looking at what is good around me and what is good for me will help me!