HAPPY NEW YOU!?
Shaghayegh Hanson
Every time a new year rolls around, my friend’s elderly Italian mother wishes people a “Happy New You!” in her heavily accented English. No one has had the heart to correct her on this turn of phrase in the six decades she’s lived in America. Just as well, since her salutation perfectly captures the mood we naturally adopt at this time of year to take self-improvement measures that will, hopefully, result in a better version of ourselves going forward.
I have made plenty of new year’s resolutions in my time, many, if not all, of which ended up falling by the wayside in spectacularly quick fashion. As a result, I am quite cynical about the tradition. If the last year or so has taught us anything, it’s that the best laid plans are subject to the vagaries of elements beyond our control. It has been an especially hard lesson for those of us with first world problems. What are those? Apart from treating the lack of toilet paper as a national crisis or a justification for hand-to-hand combat in the grocery store, here’s a sampling of some memes that paint the picture:
“I have no food in my house . . . that can be made in less than two minutes.”
“I have nothing to drink at home. Except a virtually unlimited supply of clean, fresh drinking water.”
“Mom asks what I want for Christmas. Can’t think of anything.”
“Staying with relatives. They don’t know their Wi-Fi password.”
“I have to wake up at 4:00 a.m. Because I’m going on vacation.”
Sadly, I can identify with all of these, most recently with the last one. A couple of weeks ago, I had to wake up at 4:30 a.m. to begin my epic 3-flight, 2-hour road trip to my vacation spot on an island in Belize. Grumpy and caffeine-deficient, I barely mustered a “thank you” to my Uber driver as he dropped me off at the airport. Then I waited in a long line at curbside check-in, only to be told I was in the wrong line and had to go inside the terminal, to wait in another long line at ticketing. Sixteen or so hours later, having endured a barrage of such first world problems, I arrived at my destination.
Belize set me straight. I can tell you about the glorious, white sandy beaches, the turquoise waters of the Caribbean, the stunning marine life at the coral reefs, but what is lodged in my heart is the indomitable and beautiful people of Belize. The tourism industry accounts for almost 45 percent of Belize’s economy, and the locals, already at subsistence living, were hit hard by COVID-19. Without a welfare system, families were struggling in ways we can only imagine in our nightmares. And yet, the sounds of music and laughter filled the air wherever I went. At every turn, there was a ready smile, a kind gesture, a helping hand with directions or other guidance. The hospitality and warmth I was shown from people who had little, but were willing to give much to their fellow human beings, was humbling. I marveled at how Belizeans focus on, and find, pockets of joy in their everyday lives, despite the material struggles they endured.
We first worlders have expectations and wants far beyond the meeting of our needs. I think it tends to make us a generally anxious and dissatisfied bunch and shackles our happiness to unnecessarily high standards. It’s a fine notion to set goals, but to live in the moment and show gratitude for the things we do have, rather than the things we don’t, is a finer way to live. At least this is what I will tell myself if (and when) my new year’s resolutions go awry (again).
