December 31, 2012

The Light in Darkness - 2012


2012 has been the strangest year of my life till date. And the way it ended promised that 2013 might just be as surprising as well.

I turned 30 and for the first time felt like an adult in 2012. You know not the kind of adulthood I had expected to find. Yes, I could make decisions about the family, but the responsibility was always better handled by dad and mom. Yes, I could stay up late into the night without waiting for permission, but no longer did that seem to be a good idea given that there was a 9:00 am meeting the next day. Work was still fun but the stakes keep getting higher every time.

Hospital visits were common during the year and I saw the ugly side of the once noble profession. I was away from my country, which erupted in protest again and again on various issues. The outlook was grim around the world, jobs were not available and relationships between friends were going sour. Tragedy struck at will and we realized that the complete irreverence of our youth was misplaced. We were not above failure.

2012 was the year when hope was needed most of all. It was a year when we needed to believe more and more that in the end, all will be well. It was a year when we refused to learn humility and were humbled again and again.

Heroes came in – unknown voices across the world demanding change and then they went away as the greater part of us did not wish to be the change ourselves. Slowly the world accepted that life would go on as usual. But beyond everyone’s notice, we might be nearing a cure for AIDS, we might be closer to understanding the God Particle but we probably have gone further away from God than ever.

And during all this, surprisingly only one thing kept me going - A steady presence by my side, a firm support and an unswerving faith in us. Thank you S, for making 2012 a lot better than it actually was. Where had you been all these years?

Now that the world has not ended, here’s to 2013 and beyond!