2024. Closing words.

2024 is coming to a close.

I'm offering an unsolicited reflection in this final edition of the year.

First thing first, a bit of self-patting on my back.

In January this year I decided to publish this newsletter weekly.

I stuck to it.

It wasn’t always easy. There were times I didn’t feel like writing at all.

And I did procrastinate publicly on a few occasions.

What kept me writing was your engagement.

Seeing others interacting with words I left on the page is incredibly gratifying. Words take a life of their own. We can only hope they'll outlive us. Living traces of our short existences.

In many respects, writing is an act of ego. Especially on a public forum.

It is also an act of generosity when it's done with sincerity and vulnerability.

Generosity not only toward others but toward oneself too.

In many ways, this newsletter has been therapy for me.

It has helped me articulate thoughts that would have stayed buried deep inside my psyche otherwise.

As weird as it sounds, writing has changed me.

It has made me more intentional. More vulnerable. More attuned to my values and, dare I say, emotions.

I intend to keep writing weekly next year.

I intend to be more vulnerable. And hopefully more generous. Especially with my attention.

2024.

Another year ends, leaving us struggling for adjectives.

I thought that 2023 was a tumultuous year. Now I can hear 2024 saying “hold my beer”.

More economic uncertainty. More political turmoil.

Technology unleashed without safeguards.

The world hasn’t gotten any simpler.

Are these exceptional years, or are we witnessing a new trend? We’ll only know when we look back in a few years from now.

One thing is sure. Common sense doesn’t seem to be prevailing. We’ll need to stay alert and be skeptical of preconceived notions of how things ought to be.

Navigating such a complicated world is like crossing oceans.

Only our moral compasses can guide us in the open sea.

Do what feels right.

Because at the end of the day, what matters is that you do what you believe and believe what you do.

It’s hard to predict what 2025 has in supply for us.

But now is not the time to ponder.

It’s time to grieve 2024. To let it go.

To pause. To rest. To heal. To enjoy time with people that enrich our lives. Family, friends, and significant others.

Thank you for tagging along this year.

For assisting with my therapy.

I count on you next year.

All my best wishes.

2024.

Signing off.