A different perspective

Reflecting on 2022

It is over. 2022. A nice, but also random number. However, 2022 was certainly not a random year, as it turned out during the year and even more so now that we can look back on it.

For many countries the year started in a Covid lock-down mode, as if external forces still wanted to protect us from the ever-continuing rat-race, and forced us to reflect upon our lives. Nonetheless, the opposing forces of the lock-down rattled the bars of the Covid measures with great noise, and step by step this closed gate opened. In great gratitude, the people - freed from the fear of the corona virus and living in complete freedom again - were then united, after which we would remain closely connected and peacefully live our divine uninhibited lives for many years to come. A clear and easy change of habits, right?

During the starting week of the year, an arson attack took place on South Africa's parliament. Yet again an attack on a symbol of Democracy, parallel to the storming of the United States Capitol in Washington DC early 2021. While she was literally and figuratively under fire, 2022 was fortunately also the year in which democracy showed its strength and resilience. After the Capitol 2021 barrage, reaching a new low in the mutual hatred campaign between the fanatical section of Republicans and the Democrats, and Trump continuing to poke the fire of the "stolen elections" narrative throughout the following year, it became apparent during the midterm elections that many voters had had enough of this, and most of the Trump-backed candidates for Congress lost.

The trend of transparency on any form of transgressive behavior was on the move. The media eagerly picked up every story, every allegation, naming the alleged perpetrators by name. During the year it turned out that for a number of 'perpetrators' there was no proof whatsoever, but the famous trial by media had already done its job. Forever damned on the internet, and lives destroyed. Where is the respect for the legal system, where someone is innocent until proven guilty by a judge? During the year it turned out all too often that the respect that someone expects from 'the system' did not apply when it was about someone else.????

“Has holding up a mirror to one another degenerated into condemning every mistake by the other?”

The diversity trend gained further momentum this year. Issues such as the often still leading male gaze and the pay gap between men and women were put more on the map. Female and non-white artists received an increasing amount of attention in major exhibitions, in museums worldwide. These institutions turned out to be pre-eminently environments in which the changing zeitgeist can be experienced and your perception can be shifted, certainly in relation to the dominant view from the (mainstream) media, as for example presented by Esiri Erheniene-Essi in the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. Female artists made further breakthroughs in the hip-hop music scene, with celebs as Cardi B and Rapsody giving a contemporary twist to feminism. Both female sexual fantasies as well as standing up against racism were covered in songs, apparently quite different topics, but coming from the same - female - source.

Would this be the prelude to looking more at the person than at the gender or color, where the richness of diverse thinking by apparently similar ‘bodies’, can and may be highlighted and celebrated?

In February, the Winter Olympics took place in China. Did you remember? There was relatively little commotion about an event in a country that was criticized by many people in the Western world. This turned out to be different later in the year, when national and international - mainly Western - media abundantly criticized Qatar, hosting the World Cup football. Every day viewers were confronted with the poor working conditions and the casualties due to the construction of the (football and other) infrastructure required for this prestigious tournament. A TV interview by a Western reporter present on site with a number of (not pre-selected) local workers painted a somewhat different picture. In short: "the conditions in their own countries of origin were worse and people were dying anyway and everywhere", according to the local workers. The reporter was flabbergasted. That these men did not have the same high principles and convictions as he, the Western moral knight. A reality check for the perspective of Western values versus cultures that think differently. A divergent view. We are entitled to our norms and values, but they are not necessarily directly applicable to everyone in the world right now, apart from the ever-present excesses, which ought to be challenged. In the middle there is a lot of room for discussion, nuance and, above all: timing. Tiptoeing through a minefield of moral high ground captains. Who will pick up this assignment?

Apart from that, mutual dependency is ubiquitous. Can you boldly impose something on others without any nuance if you depend on, for example, their oil, gas or minerals required for energy transition? Or are you prepared to significantly lower the standard of living for your principles or to postpone the energy transition? How would the population react, as soon as the energy compensation lapses and the middle class, already yearning for some economic relief, can no longer pay its bills? This would enable strong men or women to gain power by promising a lot and at the same time chip away the cement for a stable society. These were also the considerations for our current leadership. Would you like to step into their - decision making - shoes?

And all of a sudden there was a true turning point that shook Europe and the rest of the world to its very foundations. Long awaited, finally arrived. February 24, the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A tipping point in recent European and world history. For the first time in a long time, there was again a large-scale war on European soil. Most people, including politicians, initially assumed a short war, in which the Ukraine might have to give up some territory and everyone, albeit a bit sulking, could then go on with their daily routines. In doing so, both Russia – the people are accustomed to suffering and oppression and their leader is ruthless – and the Ukraine – proud of their nation and ready to fight – were underestimated. It soon became apparent that this war showed how the world is interconnected. Ukraine and Russia are major exporters of grain and fertilizer. When exports stopped, there was a threat of a shortage of bread in various countries and fertilizer was essential for agriculture. In addition, Europe – foremost the EU - was underestimated by Russia and did not allow itself to be divided but was united in its actions, leading to boycotts of various Russian products from gold to oil and gas and to supporting Ukraine with money and weapons. The result was a still ongoing horrific war, with numerous victims,?where – unfortunately, unfortunately – parties also benefit. How about the US defense industry and energy suppliers?

As a result of all this, inflation grew to unprecedented heights. After all, everything that needs to be produced is in need of (fossil) energy. The price of standing up for freedom?

Another direct result of this war: a shift in thinking about the importance of security, military security. NATO was doomed years earlier, and why spend billions on old-fashioned tanks, planes and missiles. A large-scale military operation on European territory would no longer take place. This idea is now completely outdated and NATO members are queuing up to achieve the once established 2% standard - expenditure percentage of GDP. Small setback, the scaled-down war industry currently has limited supply capacity. Anyway, again it turned out that safety is not a given.

Europe has awakened from its dream of eternal peace and happiness. Furthermore, another conflict on European territory seems to be emerging. The long-lingering dispute between Serbia and Kosovo. The preliminary stage of a new war?

"Each morning is a blank canvas, which is filled with a wealth of colors every time, yet always slightly different."

The war continued with brutal force. The tight labor market made it also less difficult in more labor regulated markets to resign and pick up a new job in order to increase their monthly pay-check. In addition to the already high inflation, this market-wide labor shortage also resulted in an increase in wage costs for employers, making everything even more expensive. A different view on the valuation of employees brought benefits to the switcher at the expense of the community - less service, even higher inflation and so on. Once again the interdependency showed its very existence.

Under the radar, the climate aficionados were able to transform themselves into sticky art devotees in various museums. Gluing oneself to a famous work of art, which hung innocently, only aimed at inspiration for her dedicated audience. For the time being it is unclear whether the message came across clearly and whether the end justified the means. In any case, the artworks effortlessly stood the test of time in all their brilliance.

The convenience delivery industry could grow strongly thanks to Covid (lock-downs). As is often the case in the tech start-up world, the goal was for these new kids on the block to rapidly increase the customer base thanks to a lot of low cost money?– very low interest rates -?and thus achieve market dominance. The large initial losses did not matter, since the entire purpose of the investors was to cash in via a successful IPO . But alas, the tide turned, not in the least because of citizens complaining about the nuisance – dark stores – in their neighborhood, so at the end of the year various parties rushed to the exit.

Furthermore, nature made itself heard, and it turned out to do so in all openness as well as more hidden. In Pakistan, at one point, more than 1/3 of the country was inundated by floods, forcing tens of millions of people to leave their homes.

Meanwhile, while we read in our own favorite news channels that everywhere the various systems were in disarray, the differences grew, and the vulnerability of mankind in all its being unfolded, partly due to the interconnectedness, unobserved and unnoticed a parallel development took place. Biodiversity declined with even greater vigor. Over the past 50 years, research has shown that population sizes of fish, birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles worldwide have declined by an average of 69%.

The World Economic Forum calculated that 50% of the global economy depends on the proper functioning of these ecosystems; that appeals more to homo economicus. According to European Commissioner Sinkevicius, these ecosystems must be made more resilient (source: Financieel Dagblad Dec 2022).

The sad state of repair of the human world – housing crisis, inflation, war, collapsing share- and crypto currency prices and so on – and the unfortunately also severely damaged nature (biodiversity) were totally in sync. A mutual mirror. By chance?

Was this a warning to us to change radically? A very practical example of this was evident from a decades-old Dutch water management system. In the Netherlands, this is geared to draining water quickly, while the increasingly extreme dry summers generate a contrary need to store and conserve water. At the same time, for ages Dutch houses have been built to retain heat, while now - suffering from the hot summer days – innovations are implemented to keep out heat and to cool our homes. A different point of view, and associated action, was accelerated by unexpected drastic events.

In spring, President Macron of France was re-elected. Although there was much criticism on his first term performance, and the polarization trend in the world was continuing strongly, the majority chose the moderate option instead of the alternative: the (extreme) right-wing Marine Le Pen. Moderation over extremity, a sign? But here too, a possible new trend does not go in a straight line. In the US, the Supreme Court in June overturned previous decisions, including the famous Roe v. Wade, making the right to abortion a State instead of Federal issue again. This led to great animosity between the fanatical Christian right and moderate America. The right to self-determination over one's own body was reversed for women.

In this respect, America moved in the direction of countries which regimes many Americans hate - whether left, right or conservative Christian -, such as Iran and Afghanistan, where civil or even human rights for women – if existing at all - were increasingly reduced. Can you imagine, ?if even a little piece of hair can be seen, this is forbidden; which in Iran even led to the death of a young woman who was arrested and mistreated by the 'morality police', with a fatal outcome. This turned out to be the straw that broke the camel's back for the largely young population, which is fed up with a regime of 'old men with beards', which is no longer in tune with a world that is completely different from ancient times. Here, too, social media played a crucial role in inspiring supporters, both in Iran and far beyond, to political and social pressure. The genie is out of the bottle, and the road of the transition to a more liberal existence will unfortunately be paved with many more victims. A battle between the incumbent, conservative power and the inspired, future-oriented youth, who - with a different view on life - ask no more than to live in freedom in a world that is just as much theirs as of?'the others'.

In July, the former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe – you know, from the Abenomics – was shot at an election rally and died. Very unusual, such gun violence in Japan. A sadly fitting part of the global unrest that was culminating.

Talking about growing anxiety. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, made a high-profile visit to Taiwan in the summer, stoking the fire against China, which had already announced in advance that this visit would be considered as a hostile gesture. A day after the visit, China began military exercises around Taiwan. All this as part of a wider sparring match between 2 candidates for world hegemony. Where the chess pieces that have to be moved again and again will lead us are, for the time being, shrouded in mist. From time to time we see and hear something, read about it and hope for the best.

“As soon as the sun presents its first glimmer in the dawn, it does?what it has done for millennia: illuminate, warm and energize, making life possible for all of us.”

In this year, both US President Joe Biden and his 'eternal counterpart and predecessor' Donald Trump were frequently in the news. Now ex-President Bolsonaro of Brazil seemed to be the shadow of Trump in his democracy-undermining actions. Biden, who was regularly portrayed as an old, almost senile man, via posted online videos of his sometimes confused performance, achieved a major victory by passing his Inflation Reduction Act. A clever framing of a law that was previously referred to differently, which was finally adopted by both Houses after many discussions and compromises. Predecessor Trump was mainly in the news because of scandals, including searches of his home by the FBI. Unfortunately for him, his announcement to run again for President did not lead to the widespread euphoria amongst his supporters. Has the magic worn off or is it time for a more moderate politics and associated leadership, thanks to changing viewpoints?

The clash between grand desires and limited resources increased its pace. ?This became clear in many different challenges, such as immigration. A prosperous country could and should share its wealth with those who are less fortunate, including taking care of people from poorer parts of the world. For example the EU, taking up many hundreds of thousands of people fleeing their home countries for war or oppression, that is quite possible, but this is also related to the challenges such as far too few homes and teachers and a health care system, which is under increasing pressure, partly due to a scarcity of people and resources. In short, the stand alone wishes can – sometimes barely - be fulfilled, but the connection with other matters causes the whole system to crack. That requires a more holistic, strategic view and sharper choices, which are not always fun for people with their own specific interests at heart, but do benefit society as a whole. In the event of conflicting interests, self-interest gives way.

Talking about the fact that everything is connected. The energy transition was accelerated, but unfortunately not because of a sudden divine inspiration from those placed above us, but because of the war in the Ukraine. The EU decided to boycott the import of (particularly fossil) raw materials from Russia in increasingly rapid steps. The dependence of various major economies, including Italy and Germany - over 40% dependency on cheap Russian gas - was conveniently forgotten.

“Is it time for a Zeitenwende or are we already in it?”

Furthermore, since energy prices exploded, it became abundantly clear that just about everything that is produced needs (fossil) energy, so inflation shot up even further. Alternatives, in the short term, were lacking. Governments were forced by citizens, who in recent years have become increasingly accustomed to being compensated for every setback, to also compensate them for these sharply rising energy costs.

All paid for on the basis of the idea that steadily rising government debts at low capital market interest rates would not pose a problem. Or do they? The years of ‘subsidy’ by the central banks, through negative interest rates, were completely reversed in six months, as a result of which the (already incurred) debts of governments and citizens soon became less affordable. For example, houses became even more unaffordable for starters, but hey, the advantage is that house prices will eventually fall. But, why did that grieving lost young-generation-who-couldn't-buy-a-home want to buy a home in the first place? That's right, to build up wealth. A living contradiction. Self-interest often turned out to be leading. A human being remains fallible.

Liz Truss, who remembers her? Immortalized in the British annals, in particular because, in 2022, succeeding Boris Johnson, she was the last Prime Minister under the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and the first under 'the Reign of King Charles III'. Retiring after 6 weeks in office, due to announced dramatic economic reforms. Rishi Sunak – the first British prime minister of Asian descent – succeeded her smoothly, quickly pushing the Truss anomaly into obscurity. Sunak, also because of his appearance classified in the diversity category, came up with a more traditional economic policy. Content and form, therefore, as separate parts, while looking more closely at what benefited the country as a whole instead of winning the popularity polls. Apart from Johnson's personal agenda, who briefly tried to return to the top job himself. Was that why he supported Truss in her earlier leadership contest?

The challenges of a system of perpetual growth through intensive agriculture and livestock farming in the - densely populated - Netherlands erupted, with the nitrogen emissions, mainly by farmers, as challenge impacting a diversity of topics. This resulted into massive farmer protests, which also further exposed the rural-urban divide. A famous Dutch former politician/mediator was called upon. His involvement led to a deeper insight into the unsustainability of this system. Sign of the times. One remaining point: the need for people to adapt their lavish wishes to the new reality of scarcity of resources...

Some of the richest men in the world had to swallow hundreds of billions of losses on their stock portfolios – and with them also many individuals and pension funds. Did a previously hidden message seem to surface here too: the end phase of eternal (rapid) growth, of the unbridled invasion of privacy and in addition the decline of the arrogance of the winner takes all?

While the world was in unprecedented turbulence, science again brought promising developments, with Artificial Intelligence making rapid strides in the development of new antibiotics. Two research groups in Germany and the US made significant progress in the field of Brillouin microscopy. Therefore diseases such as Alzheimer's and cancer can be detected at an early stage by observing cell stiffness, without invasive techniques. Better for the patients and more cost-effective in the long run. Developments in fast battery charging, using non-rare materials instead of the scarce lithium - paper in Nature published by Chao-Yang Wang cs – offers the world significant progress towards a more affordable and less natural destructive battery technology. There also seemed to be progress in the holy energy grail: nuclear fusion.

Argentina was crowned the new football world champion at the expense of France. Buenos Aires and the rest of Argentina exploded with joy; people forgetting their (economic) troubles for a while in an orgy of joy and pride. In the same year, Dutch Formula 1 driver Max Verstappen raced relatively easily to his second world championship title in a row, which only elicited a 'hurray' from his fans - spoiled by his many victories.

Towards the end of the year, the accelerating development of technology came to an interim climax with the launch of ChatGPT. A chatbot that, thanks to AI - artificial intelligence - can independently write 'human style' texts based on given assignments, from film scripts to profound philosophical essays. Artificial intelligence will significantly change our world as we know it today, and this chatbot is already a sneak preview of ‘the world that awaits us’. With all the dangers – and therefore also opportunities and possibilities – coming along.

The climate worries continued to haunt us and so at the end of 2022 many ski slopes in France, among others, were closed due to too high temperatures and too little snow. Green, snowless slopes like lighthouses, warning us of the upcoming barbaric nature catastrophes.

Systems had been falling apart for years and are now slowly coming to an end. We seem to live in borrowed time. Everything has an economic and practical lifespan... time to think about a system rearrangement, making other connections, and building on the very foundations of these modified connections?

The always inspiring arts were – often literally – valued. In the auction world people got excited by the No 1 artwork of 2022: Shot Sage Blue Marilyn, 1964, by the king of pop art, Andy Warhol. The eager buyer was allowed to put over USD 195 million on the table. Creativity has its price.

Theaters and museums had a difficult year, in which fear of the corona virus or disrupted lives - it took some getting used to and adjustment post-Covid - resulted in fewer visitors than pre-Covid.

???????????“On the shoulders of inspiring predecessors, we build a new world, over and over again.”

In this year, a number of more or less prominent people, who in their own way added color to our global ecosystem, left planet Earth.

There was, for example, the most noticeable earth-departer, Queen Elizabeth: after 70 years on the throne, her demise was a symbol of the end of an era. Perhaps not only from her Reign era, but from the demise of the existing overarching system.

Olivia Newton-John, who doesn't know her. Affectionately called little olive and immortalized in, among other things, the classic film Grease. She brightened the lives of many young people. A pop music icon, singer Meat Loaf, exchanged the temporal for the eternal, forever remembered by the song Paradise by the Dashboard Light. A song as overwhelming as his appearance. Another legend, but as an actor, Sidney Poitier, swapped his role on planet Earth for a casting somewhere up there.

The American painter Philip Pearlstein, famous for his nude portraits, is now allowed to contribute to the portrait gallery above. In addition, the creation time of Jennifer Bartlett also came to an end. She provided the world unique expressions of imagination through her (conceptual) artworks.

Samuel L. Katz lives on as a co-developer of the measles vaccine, and as a result still makes many children - and therefore parents - happy on a daily basis. The famous British author Hillary Mantel – known for her historical fiction such as Wolf Hall – has unfortunately stopped writing at the relatively young age of 70.

The famous French film director Jean Luc Godard will experience light and life from a different perspective. The last President of the Soviet Union, Michael Gorbachev, also left us. The man who facilitated the end of the Soviet era will always be remembered for his historic role, along with the concepts of Perestroika and Glasnost. In the last few days of the year we also lost Pelé, the best football player ever according to many, and Vivienne Westwood: fashion designer and style icon. Both artists in their own craft. Pope emeritus Benedict XVI literally ended the year and live at the blessed age of 95.

“What a year. What a year. Did all those crises also offer opportunities?”

The lessons of this past year? Covid, war, disease, inflation; crisis, crisis, crisis…all in all immense, unexpected events crossing our paths. These are all issues that you have no influence on, thus unavoidable if and as soon as they present themselves. How you deal with it, that's the crux. And, in dealing with it, knowing how to value the ordinary, the everyday. In line with the philosophy of Dirk de Wachter, renowned Belgian psychiatrist and professor, who recently applauded 'the splendidness of the ordinary' in an interview (source: brainwash special on human.nl). Observing the daily routines and human interactions with a different view. There are always ingredients for the good, the better, the resurgence. And there is more...

An increasing number of organizations discovered the power of the creatives, artists and designers at the forefront, who can use their 'different' brainpower and imagination to solve the major challenges of our time. A long-standing, strongly continuing trend. Matching the completion of the old structures and practices.

The same people and the same frames are no longer sufficient to actually change the order of things. So therefore opening up seems to be a must, to operate more from a foundation of feeling, free thinking and ingenuity. Taking into account primarily possibilities rather than the obstacles.

“Inspiration from thinking differently”

All in all a lot in life is about fear. Again this primal emotion got far too much attention in 2022 – just read the newspapers –?and, as argued earlier, everything that you give attention to grows. So, fear.

An all-encompassing darkness, which clouds the mind and hinders clear thinking and an open look at opportunities and possibilities. Will there be war here too? Can I still pay my energy bill? Am I making the right career move? Has the climate been irretrievably ruined? What if she says no? The fear of illness and death also strikes an existential chord. A constant factor in everyone's existence. What if we can let go of this all-consuming anxiety, from now on, in the promising 2023?

Take a deep breath. Coming from 2022 on the way to a new year. Could it be a little less fear and a lot more hope and inspiration? After all, life is now. Our existence is and remains a sum of successful and less successful actions. The often vain search for security and therefore - sometimes unnecessary - compromises, which in turn lead to slowly crumbling foundations under the – then regrettable - existence. Why not embracing life to the fullest, and blowing away the dark cloud of small and major insecurities and faux pas? Looking at an infinite pool of possibilities. Making the most of your potential – what you are passionate about. And in that state of mind, approaching the people around you - loved ones, colleagues and casual passers-by - with a different viewpoint, in order to tap into a much greater source of joint solution capacity. Just the hidden shine & sparkle potential in the friends around you, which often only reveals itself in dark times, is worth cherishing; the power of together.

Fully focused on successfully tackling dilemmas in any format, which would otherwise overwhelm everything and bring you and others to a standstill. Then - why not? – jointly celebrate every small success, and then share it on those same channels, which for the time being mostly emphasize the extreme opposite. If ‘the negative’ influences and mutually reinforces, then so does ‘the positive’. Fear is also a strength: it implies the hope and longing for the good. Doom & gloom thinking is – as the ever-present other side – the sublimation of the profoundly penetrating yearning for a better world, in which the Great Structure and all underlying ecosystems are in balance. So on to placing the flip-side in the spotlights - thus allowing it to grow. All aimed at joy, passion and new impetus.

If you can imagine this, as a dreaming wishful thinker or wishful thinking dreamer, then this is possible. Overall attention to the positive, the ingredients of healing power, which are always there. If you yourself (still or for a while) are not capable of this limitless dreaming, you certainly know others who are already able to do this. Find them, be open and together with them start dreaming, thinking and acting. They are there, if you take a good look around you, or if you go through your contact list again with that 'different perspective'. And that first step to reconnecting with those you already know, but from a modified reality... just see what happens. In other words: inspired transformation. Searching for, unlocking and experiencing that unheard of abundance, that makes life's journey a lot more pleasant. Is this our pact for the New Year?

On to a promising 2023, united and in good health.

Cheers!