2025: A Year of Renewal and Hope

As we step into 2025, there’s a palpable sense of possibility in the air. Years of global challenges have led us to a critical juncture of hope and determination. Although there are still pockets of conflict everywhere, hope is closer than we think.

For 20 years, I’ve researched and written on human resilience; however, this year is unlike any other. Perhaps the collective exhaustion from the constant hustle culture is finally giving way to a more balanced approach to progress.

The key to making 2025 truly transformative lies in our ability to set meaningful goals while acknowledging our human need for rest. Experts agree that balancing work and rest is key to lasting success.

This year, I’m observing a shift in how we approach personal and professional development. Gone are the days when burnout was a badge of honour. Instead, industry leaders are adopting what I call the “rest revolution”—strategic pauses designed to boost success. I am doing the same: working hard but resting more.

As we craft our aspirations for 2025, let’s not forget our shared yearning for global peace. Our commitments to understanding and compassion matter more than ever in a world still grappling with conflicts.

2025 isn’t another year on the calendar. It’s our collective opportunity to rewrite the narrative of success – one that values progress and peace in equal measure. The fresh start we seek isn’t just about personal achievements; it’s about contributing to a world where rest is respected and peace is possible.

May 2025 be the year you realise your goals but make more friends and meaningful contributions to your corner of the world. Happy New Year!

Much love, always! 🙂

A New Day, A New Year

Jan3

It’s already 3rd of January, this year has started its journey. Like the sound of train tracks approaching a station, we’re truly and well on our way, exploring the unknown.

The unknown stretches far into the horizons

I don’t make New Year’s resolutions, rather I live one day at a time, committing everything into the Hands of my creator, God Almighty, who gives me wisdom and strength. To anyone reading this who doesn’t believe in God, you can still make your days worthwhile by being a better ‘you’. ‘Every Little Helps’, says the Tesco slogan, and I agree. A little here, and a little there, we can make positive changes in our world.

I wish all my friends around the world, a happy and prosperous year. Be kind to yourself and others.

Have fun living your best life.

Much love, always!☺️

The Human Story

Jan17

(Firemen tackling the Australian bush fires)

The scene was total and absolute destruction. It’s more like a disaster movie. A BBC reporter claimed on the news today that the acres of land burnt in Australia is akin to fifteen million football pitches. Throughout the Christmas and New Year celebrations, I watched with growing apprehension as Australia burns with such ferocity, it was like the end of the world. And in other parts of the world such as Indonesia, Kenya, and a large swathe of Africa, people were losing their lives in natural disasters such as flooding, landslides, etc.

Thankfully, it has started to rain in Australia, but we’re not out of the woods yet. The worrying climate event around the world forms part of our human story.

Climate change is a reality. Temperatures are rising as large sheets of ice in the Arctic continues to melt. And yet, some governments around the world were paying lip service to improve pollution. We are literally killing our home, planet earth. All our bickering, superiority, and worries pale into insignificance if we lose our home. We lose everything.

When I compared the drama surrounding the semi-retirement of Prince Harry and his wife, Megan, from active royal duties, to the heartbreaking news of our climate, it was a welcome distraction. Don’t get me wrong; I think the press has unfairly vilified Megan, but she is also human as we all are, but the challenge that is facing us all dwarfs any drama playing out in the Royal family. Or the Middle East, for that matter.

Speaking of the Middle East, I was on my way home in a cab earlier this week when the driver suddenly retorted.

”Solemaini is alive, everything is a conspiracy, President Trump is colluding with the Iranians to increase the price of oil!”

”Well, we can’t be sure,” I muttered nonplussed, and I didn’t know how to react. Then he continued,

‘The world is a stage; there are men in power who control everything that happens in the world.”

”You’re right, but what about climate change?”

”I don’t know about that,” he replied.

His response got me thinking. The average person may have an opinion about every topic and incidents around the world, but Global warming is still not that important. Sir David Attenborough hammered home another warning today, and we need to act now. I genuinely hope our human story will not end in tears because we live in such a beautiful world!

I’ll touch on other matters now. It’s a bit surreal that while I was busy running around, working, attending hospital appointments, I haven’t updated my website for months, although I feel guilty life’s been, well life. This is my first article in a long while, and I’m sorry if I’m ranting.

I am currently working on a short film, a documentary called ‘Chasing Humans,’ for one of my Master’s degree modules. The film touched on core topics around safety in London. I wrote and directed it, and I’ll keep updating on the progress of the film.

I have missed many awesome articles from my WordPress family. I will visit every one in a couple of weeks after meeting some of my deadlines.

It’s so good to be back. I hope 2020 would be an excellent year for us all.

Much love, always! 🙂

Happy Golden Moments!

Jan16

(Photo credit: Flickr)

”You are doing something very sacred here, something very daring, during your life upon the earth. You are defining yourself, and then creating yourself anew, in each golden moment of now.” Neale Donald Walsch

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We have moved to another chapter of our lives. It’s kind of surreal that it’s already the 16th of January, 2018. I haven’t been able to write due to challenges on the health front. The latter part of 2017 was kind of hard but I am thankful that I have fought a winning battle on my health, I don’t give up easily, however, I must admit that I did get a few knocks on the head.

And I learned a lot of lessons. Life could be boring without a few bricks thrown around you, the trick is, don’t get knocked down.

I believe a New Year symbolises new beginnings, opportunity and ability to start again, and afresh. I don’t think we should be dwelling in the past, neither should we allow failures of the past to live through the present. However, we can learn from the past, check what works and what doesn’t, and then plan strategies on how to have better results.

I intend to live each day at a time, and to have a clearer vision of what I want to achieve each day, and by the end of the year. I would have lived well.

One of my key determination this year is to give lots of love to people I know, and to people, I don’t really know that well. There’s a kind of love that never fades, God’s love. It is eternal, you’re precious and beautiful in His sight, that love naturally flows through us, but there is a catch, we have to allow it. I honestly believe that love can solve most of the world’s problems. Racism would be a thing of the past because we would see everyone through our own eyes. A mirror image of ourselves.

Love would eradicate selfishness, greed, and war. It would open the floodgate for peace and herald the continuous presence of serendipity. Gone would be the harsh realities of revenge and defiance, divorce would be a taboo and murders would be far gone from our shores.

Love would heal our planet, we would do things for the benefit of others only, and through that, we would be fulfilled because we would be our brother’s keeper. We would be like Watchmen, repairers of the breach. There would be no reasons for proliferation of arms. Nuclear warheads would be like dinosaurs, things of the past.

How I crave for those kinds of moments. Moments that Neale Donald Walsch described so vividly, ”You are doing something very sacred here, something very daring, during your life upon the earth. You are defining yourself, and then creating yourself anew, in each golden moment of now.”

Let’s share that love.

I wish all my friends love that never fades.

Love freely, uninhibited and full of joy.

Much love, always!

🙂 🙂

Strange Times Versus Eudaimonia

Feb10

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(Photo credit: Flickr)

‘These are strange times. Reason, which once combated faith and seemed to have conquered it, now has to look to faith to save it from dissolution.”

Well, should I write, Happy New Year? I think so because this is my first article for the New Year, yet the world has gone through and is still going through strange times. There was the story of a madman who insisted he must rule for a billion years (former Gambian President, Yahya Jammeh) and now we have a President of the free-world who insisted on building walls, and causing as much division as he wanted.

These are strange times indeed.

However, I’ll rather go along the Hannah Arendt line, which was self-explanatory:

”The ultimate end of human acts is eudaimonia, happiness in the sense of living well, which all men desire; all acts are but different means chosen to arrive at it.”

I guess we might as well pursue that which makes us happy. 2017 is a year I want to pursue a wellness of spirit, soul, and body, and I hope you can all come to a place of wholeness too.

I hope you’ll all have a wonderful weekend.

Much love, always! 🙂 🙂

Walking Through Time

Dec31

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(Photo Credit: Flickr)

This year had been full of surprises. From Brexit to the election of Trump to the continual gluttonous appetite of the world’s politicians. The world was gripped by the drama that was the US Presidential election, and as a feminist, I was really rooting for Hilary Clinton. But that was not her fate, she lost the race.

On a personal note, I’ve experienced nothing but blessings this year. I’ve also had my share of challenges, don’t we all? I’ve had dreams postponed but not denied, I’ve seen plans stalled but not destroyed. I’ve had manuscripts shelved but not forgotten. I’ve met new friends and learned some vital life lessons.

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The great thing is, if you’re reading this, that means we’re still walking through time, our lights are not snuffed out yet, for that, we should be grateful. No matter what you may have gone through in 2016, as long as you’re still breathing, and walking, there is hope yet. Don’t give up!

On that note, I wish all my friends here in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in the world, may you have a wonderful and prosperous 2017!

Happy New Year!!!

Much love, always. 🙂

A Day In January…

Jan15

This is how I feel right now

(Photo credit: Flickr)

I dug my teeth into my frozen lips as the winter air attacked me with gusto; my veins bulged out in protest. I hunched and huffed, hugging myself in a bid to thwart the desperate cold but it was to no avail.

You can guess how cold it is!

I was returning from a conference where a renowned expert, whose soft-spoken voice intoned deeply into my bored mind talked about the benefits of controlling our thoughts in order to be more productive. Granted that I did gained some insight into how to train and control my thoughts, nevertheless, I wasn’t sure that my thoughts could control me and not the other way round. Uncannily, my winter-ravaged brain had stylishly blotted the speaker’s name from my mind. I didn’t think controlling my thoughts could be hard, so I decided to put it to the test.

Strangely, I found my thoughts running haywire from the mundane to the downright funny, then to the sober and finally back to the speaker.

I got zero point.

My environment, things I see and feel could control my thoughts. It was winter, and I would be a fool to think that it was summer. So what happens to us naturally has great impact on our thought processes. Despite that, we could still control our thoughts through discipline although that’s open to debate.

This is where I want to be!

The chilly January air continued its assault on my hapless face as I trudged home and the words of the speaker returned subtly. The man was right and I determined to have firm control on what goes through my mind.

When I got home, I switched the heater on, dove under the duvet and brought out my worn out diary, which reminded me of Yiyun Li’s ‘A Sheltered Woman.’ My tired eyes scanned through my schedule for Friday and as my eyes rested on the date, I was shocked, my amazement wasn’t feigned, it was genuine. Today is the 15th, the year is flying faster than my 5-year-old son’s kite.

The year had strolled in like an old lover, sniffing around with familiarity, extending his love, yet restraining back. Days had flown into two weeks and before we know it, shops would be brimming with Valentines cards. It’s unbelievable.

I had twenty minutes of solitude before jumping back into the fray, a tired sigh escaped my lips, then my thoughts strayed to the news of Alan Rickman’s passing and my heart sank. He was a beloved actor, I loved his role as the ‘Sheriff Of Nottingham in Robin Hood. I closed my eyes, my aim was absolute peace, no thoughts but it was a futile effort.

My mind drifted again, back to the speaker who believed that tiredness, anxieties, worry, fear all stem from our minds, eating deep into our days as we lose track of our jobs, he believes it affects our productivity and in a way, our lives.

However, how do we control our thoughts?

I have few theories on that but would love to read what you think.

This is my first post of the year. I don’t have a new year resolution. However, I’m determined to do things better than I did last year, which is recognising the things I could change while taking positive actions and ignoring things that could eat into my time. Like Reinhold Niebuhr would say, ”God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

I hope you’ll all have a fabulous weekend!

Much love, always!

🙂

The Happy Isles

Dec28

(Photo credit: Flickr)

It may be that the gulfs will wash us down:

It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,

And though We are not now that strength which in old days

Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;

One equal temper of heroic hearts,

Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

Ulysses by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

‘Thinking about that poem a lot lately and I think what it says is that while it’s tempting to play it safe, the more we’re willing to risk, the more alive we are. At the end what we regret most are chances we never took.’

Dr Frasier Crane.

Trying to sum up this year has left me floundering for the perfect words to write, but then, Ulysses by Alfred, Lord Tennyson came to mind. I realised that the reason we’re sometimes miserable in life is neglecting the things that are dear to our hearts.

‘It’s easier said than done, a dear friend once quipped wryly, fate is a cruel lover.’ I disagreed with her. Most times, we leave our lives in the hands of fate when we can dictate how we want things to turn. Don’t get me wrong, there are many things we can’t control, yet in the same vein, there are things within OUR control.

The end of a year signals something final and irreversible. Likewise, it also foretold adventures not yet taken, dreams not yet realised and battles not yet fought nor won. It could however, prove an unsettling experience if we believe our lives aren’t what we want it to be by doing nothing to make it what it ought to be.

There’s a way out though, why not envision what you want and take ample steps towards it? By doing so, you would be able to satisfy your innermost desires knowing that you tried and succeeded or maybe not but at least, you took action.

The new year is almost here, and I want to use this opportunity to appreciate my friends all over the world, for their continued support and friendship. I hope 2016 would be a better year and that peace and love would be a visible part of our lives in the new year!

I hope we would touch our ‘Happy Isles’ in 2016, we just need to believe so.

Much love friends, and happy New Year!
🙂

Yet Another Day…

Jan3

I wish your lives would be bright this year!

‘The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time.” Abraham Lincoln.

I love new beginnings, the ability to start again and I think that’s what excites me most about a new year, every January, I tend to have lofty visions of what I want to achieve, projections and expectations. Some years, I meet my targets and other years, well, life just happens.

Not that I’m bothered, I always shrugged my shoulders and think, ‘well, I have yet another day.’

And that’s what a new year is all about, yet another day.

2015 is not different, I have visions, but there is a change in me – I really want to enjoy this year, I have that determination to be happy, live each day at a time. Humans are essentially creations of habits, we tend to have certain ways of doing things and I’m not different. However, this year, I want to step out of my comfort zone and do something different (positive things! 🙂 ) that I wouldn’t normally do.

I also want to use this opportunity to appreciate you all. 2014 was a year that I went through a few personal struggles which most of you know about, but that’s what makes life what it is, sometimes unpredictable but overall enjoyable. Your love is what makes this earth a better place to live. I am grateful for your kindness friends, thank you everyone!

I love how Abraham Lincoln put it simply, ‘The future is living one day at a time.’ How right he was…

What visions do you have this year? I would really love to hear from you my friends.

I wish you a Happy New Year, I hope this year would be filled with love, laughter, and peace!

Much love, always! 🙂