Seek a better life in the new year

Dear Editor,
MANY become sentimental and emotional at this time of the year to make resolutions and promises intended for the upcoming year and although they are good intentions, not many live up to their promises and New Year’s resolutions. Ours will somehow get lost and our direction somehow becomes derailed – we lose focus of our goals a few days, even weeks, into the new year.
Many seek to reflect on the past year, the past weeks and months. While it is good to reminisce about one’s struggles, achievements, goals, accomplishments and progression of life itself throughout the past year, it is more important to find real thought-out solutions to that which keeps us stagnant and stationary in life. We must all seek after a better life in the new year, one which is productive and fruitful to ourselves and those around us. Empower yourselves with skills and knowledge—with lifelong skills and passion that will motivate you to wake up each and every morning roaring to get into the world and stir up things. Instead of complaining about everything under the sun, get your hands dirty in social issues, politics, education, health, security, local government issues, get involved and make a difference.
Become proactive citizens around your communities and villages. Take care of the environment in and around you. This earth is not ours, rather, it was loaned to us by the Creator, to be cared and nurtured, not to be littered with waste materials. The sight of persons tossing refuse, especially canned items, out of vehicles as they drive, drives me insane. The accumulation of garbage in the canals and drains whenever it rains is a most horrible sight to behold.
Try as much to mend broken and fractured friendships and relationships in the new year. Take no ill will or bad feelings towards anyone into the coming year. This is a good time to re-assess our friendships and relationships with loved ones, family, friends and associates. Keep friendships with persons who can only enrich our lives and not bring us to the road of destruction. Stay as busy as you can, for you will have less time for idle behaviour, but practise good time management. This is crucial in our ever-busy, ever-changing world today, where multi-tasking has become the new skill every person should possess.
Don’t let this opportunity of a new year, a new start and a new beginning pass you by to not re-assess and re-evaluate your lives, personal, economical, professional, social and otherwise. Make changes that are necessary and that will benefit you and those around you. Seek more education and knowledge, instead of having useless conversations and banter around you. Instead of discussing people and engaging in gossip, catch up on the news around your country and in the world. Make the new year a year in which you will have as much information as possible at your disposal.
Time is a very valuable resource and must be put to the best use, for it cannot be regained. Use your time efficiently in the new year. Use your time to do meaningful and enriching things. And next year would also be a good time to deeply reflect on your religious beliefs and its impact on your lives. Attending church is merely a habit for many, for it has little or no impact on one’s daily life, on their day-to-day dealings with people or with the world around them. Instead of using religion as a façade and cover to propel our own ambitions, let the message of your faith inspire you to radiate its message throughout your corners and communities.
Guyana will become my secondary home in 2017. It is my hope to embark on a new beginning elsewhere, but rest assured, I will always find myself in Guyana whenever it is convenient and opportune for me to do so. The work that I do will always continue for in my book, nothing is impossible. I have made a solid foundation here for myself, one that can never be replaced or broken.
Leon Suseran