2020 was supposed to be the year where I had plans. My first year in almost a decade where I didn’t have any upcoming baby bears on the horizon, where I started building my own way into the future of my choice.

How grossly wrong I was, although we have started vaccinating our most vulnerable members of our society, what will this mean for our future I really don’t know.

As Umar Ebrahimsa, a specialist in infectious diseases mentioned, ‘2021 is still looking to be a socially distanced one.’

As we crave normality, what if we stop and think what normality actually meant for everyone? Is that what we wish to go back to? If we are getting a chance to reboot our normal, how are we going to go about making a new normal that works and is just for everyone?

These systemic wrongs that we know exist in the world are not sustainable and ignoring these issues will ultimately hurt us. 2020 has shown us that it is not enough to just shrug our shoulders and say this is how it is and we can’t do anything about it.
As I look forward to the New Year, I find myself limiting my expectations of others.

If we are to make a claim that Islam is the most complete religion on earth today, then why can’t we seem to offer powerful alternatives solutions to these gross inequalities that we see around us? It seems we are just as much in the dark as the next believer or non–believer.

If we wish to live in a world without any fear, we need to be firmly on the side of the oppressed and be constantly working towards bettering their realities – because it is directly tied to our own reality. We shouldn’t be known for our opulence but for our ability to champion the causes of the oppressed.

So, my goal for 2021 is to only have expectations of myself, expectations of others and the disappointing aftermath brings no joy or light in my life. It is very easy for us to say what other people should or should not be doing.

But turn that around and keep the ball firmly in our court. What actions will we take towards the realities that we wish to see. No action is too small. Quite often, small actions taken with a very strong intention or aim gain a force of their own. As Greta Thurnberg very aptly states, “Don’t ever think one person cannot make a difference.”

So, yes, I will set goals for myself, in the hope and prayer that I may be a drop in a storm to nourish life giving forces on the earth.
May the festivities of this month bring you joy and peace.

Happy New Year!

Aasiya I Versi