So much to be thankful for, By Simbo Olorunfemi

It is so easy to forget where the journey began from. A little ease, or sometimes a bit of discomfort, and we forget where we are coming from. It is in the nature of man, possibly for his own good, to find a way of condemning the past to the past.

Yet, without properly situating the moment on the back of the past, the tendency to not appropriately appreciate the moment is there. We lose touch with the past and we reimagine the moment in colours that rob us of the presence of mind to properly appreciate it.

If feedback from social listening is enough to go by, it would appear that many found 2022 a difficult year. The murmur over the state of the economy, with particular focus on inflation, was quite loud.

As governments around the world battled to come up with solutions to stem the tide inflation, with social unrest sweeping across many parts of the world, it appeared as if it was only a matter of time before we witness upheaval here.

For reasons to do more with the resilience of Nigeria’s informal economy, a largely unreported and unappreciated sector, the situation did not lead to the level witnessed elsewhere.

Indeed, there is no way to properly appreciate 2022 outside of 2020. We might have forgotten but 2020 was virtually a write-off. It was only in the latter part of 2021, especially post-covid vaccination that the slow process of starting all over again in most parts of the world began. Recovery complicated by post- covid challenges and later the Russian-Ukraine war, making a bad situation even worse, with inflation shooting through the roof.

To properly appreciate 2022, one must look at it through the eyes of 2020. Within that context, it is easy for me to see that there is so much to be thankful for.

Firstly, life. Then, the opportunity to be able to start all over again and begin to make progress gradually. For many reasons, it has been topsy-turvy in many parts of the world, hope has become an endangered commodity. Yet, we must not give up on hope.

At a time in 2020, the only prayer on the lips of the world was for things to just return to ‘normal’. Now, many of us have forgotten. We can no longer even agree on what is normal and what is not.

As the calendar puts 2022 to bed, we must realise that while 2022 might indeed be behind, its hands will be present in 2023. The rituals that we like to get into in heralding the transition from one day to the other will not break the chain between the two days, unless of our own will, we choose to put behind us those things that pull us back and embrace those that can take us forward, starting with putting behind us those things that pull us apart, embracing those that bring us to together.

So much to be thankful for. So much to be hopeful for.

I choose hope.

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