Year-End Thoughts

This has been a full year in every respect. Professionally, politically, economically - all very eventful. Rich in drama, rich in anxiety, rich in despair and in disaster. Yet, we are still here. Ready for the unknown ahead and equipped with new hope and with new strength. Throughout this year I have questioned myself many times over whether this planet is a planet in decline or a planet in evolution. I have seen mankind in its cruelest and most despicable version, as I have seen human actions of nobility and grace. I have concluded that there is a part of mankind that is continuously evolving and another part that is progressively declining. I have seen the ease with which a part of mankind embraces and replicates physical violence and I have seen actions of generosity that elevate you spiritually to the next level of being. I am not sure if this is how things always were, but I feel that in this constant battle between good and evil, evil is winning easy points. And that worries me. It saddens me that my own kind is engaging in a unique display of disrespect for the human nature in the name of personal benefit and gain. It saddens me even more when I see a large portion of society indulging in crime, baptising it "survival". It pains me the most when I see lions chewing on the remains of a violated population and maintain a smug face that reveals their satisfaction and low morality. It is alarming when social benefits acquired over decades, if not centuries of social fights are being surrendered with an impressive ease in the name of the preservation of capitalist structures. I fear when all concepts of law are being sacrificed in the name of the preservation of a political elite that must hold on to power at all cost. I am ashamed when I walk the streets of Athens and realise that Democracy has been degraded to a commodity that can be customised to fit the needs of each arrogant oligarch. And what I know for a fact is that the days ahead will be tougher. And this obliges all of us to raise the bar of ethics in our interactions not with a view to preserve an image but with the genuine need to resist this implanted virus of decline that feeds itself from our hatred against each other and from the -even sometimes justified- envy that dwells in our hearts for the easy gains of others that come as the direct result of their give-up of all ethical values incorporated in our basic education that would allegedly be our ticket to a decent and dignified life! From the bottom of my heart a Happy New Year to all!