Chronicle Editor
Andile Tshuma
2020. What a year it has been!
But, we can leave it all behind, as the end of 2020 presents us all an opportunity to leave it all behind and start better.
2020 has indeed been one of the toughest years we have had. Our country was fraught with a pandemic, and due to lockdowns people were cut off from loved ones for months.
Whatever has been haunting you or daunting you or pulling you down, now is an opportunity to reflect and leave it all behind, and choose to plan a fresh and better start.
We shall all start 2021 on a clean slate.
Some may have faced setbacks, financially, emotionally, relationship wise, others are ending the year wounded, lost loved ones, never had the best of health, lost jobs, but the year is ending. It surely hasn’t been a great year, and it is a fact that tomorrow is not guaranteed either.
But, each and every one of us has the power to make the effort to at least be a better person, and to strive to better their world and the world around them.
If you choose to leave all your toxic traits behind, you are making a bold decision to be a better person in the coming year.
A better you is a better friend, a better wife, a better husband, a more pleasant partner, a better workmate, a better son, a better daughter, a better parent.
None of us is perfect, but some people are more pleasant than others.
The biblical adage is true, “Do unto others what you would want them to do unto you.”
The more love we spread, the more kindness we share, the more we get all the good vibes back to us.
For both genders, this year showed that the world indeed needs a little bit more love and kindness.
The Covid-19 lockdowns really showed how cruel the world can be. Some women and men too, were locked down with abusers for long periods.
People got to see the monsters in their housemates, be they spouses, children or siblings. Help was often very far away as everyone was tucked away in their own little space, observing Covid-19 regulations.
There was also a lot of stigma this year. So many of us failed our friends and relatives.
Many people needed help when they or their family members contracted Covid-19 but so many of us were emotionally and financially unavailable to help, even when we could afford it. Neighbours ran out of supplies, we weren’t bothered, yet we threw away food.
You do not owe anyone anything and nobody owes you anything either, but as earlier said, it is such acts of kindness that make us human, that give purpose to our existence.
If you have not been the best of persons this year, you still have the remaining days of 2020 to work on yourself and ensure that the coming year will unleash the better person in you.
Choose to be a blessing to others.
For women, you know your character deep down within you. It would do you some good to execute an honest reflection of who you have been in 2020.
Has your presence been a blessing to others? Or have you been fighting and killing the dreams of other women just to prove a point.
Have you contributed to bringing other women up, or have you enjoyed being the only successful one, the envy of many?
Have you deliberately blocked another woman’s blessing because you felt your own crown was threatened.
Only you can honestly answer this, and if you have been spreading any negative vibes and unleashing misery on other women, the end of this year is throwing you a lifeline to change your ways and be a better sister, a more loving version of you.
Dear men, only you knows what 2020 has been like for you, you may have suffered numerous setbacks.
Have you been a blessing to the men in your presence? Have you helped those interns at your workplace to be more like you, accomplished, knowledgeable and confident, or have you made it a point that their internship year is horrible and ensured they saw the monster in you, and what a bad place the workplace can be?
Perhaps you could not be the best dad, or you even failed to be a good boyfriend, or husband. You have an opportunity to leave all those negative tendencies in this year that is coming to an end.
As the curtain comes down on this year, prepare to be a better you.
If the big brother syndrome still haunts you and you enjoy bullying everyone around at home, your siblings fear you and your workmates cannot stand you, maybe it is time you did some introspection and a deep character audit.
Indeed, 2020 has been a tough year. However, each one of us still has a million reasons to be thankful.
This is a year that has taken so many lives of our precious and loved ones, really showing us the fragility of life.
It is one of the biggest blessings to be still counted among the living at a time when being in crowds has become such an extreme sport.
For Zimbabweans, so many people lost their sources of income, many families are grieving, thousands are recovering from Covid-19, yet, we still have the gift of life. That indeed is worth celebrating.
There’s been so much death and sorrow in Bulawayo over the past year, more painful moments than happy times.
Indeed, it is a time to look forward to making the most of the sunshine as we usher in 2021, because rain will surely come at some point. We definitely need moments to reconfigure our lives.
Let your New Year resolutions not only be about finances, spiritual growth and fitness goals, add some character and attitude change and make it your ambition to be a better person too. Work on yourself, and everything will fall into place.
Happy Christmas Day, Happy Boxing Day and see you next year.
Online Reporter