The Year of the Tiger Begins Today

Today is the beginning of another lunar year. The lunar year is a calendar year whose months are Moon cycles, based on the lunar or lunisolar calendar.

Although the celebration is not on the same day and not celebrated in the same manner, the lunar year has significant marks for these cultures. It is celebrated in numerous places in the world, such as Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea region, Okinawa, Bali, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, India, Tibet, the Middle East, etc. I just learned that Nisga (an indigenous group in Canada) also celebrates the lunar year as 'Hobiyee' every February / March, depending on their own lunar calendar.

Overall, the lunar year is marked by nearly 2 billion people worldwide; the celebration continues for two weeks in many locations. Needless to say, the festivities are different based on the culture of the country or the community.

The previous year was the year of the Ox; today, we enter into the year of the tiger. The tiger is a symbol of strength, wisdom, and braveness, and the people born during a Tiger Year are thought to be leaders who are both brave & thrill-seeking.

The last year of the tiger was in 2010.

Expectation this year (countless things, I would say)

In the year of the tiger (which carries the symbol of strength, wisdom, and braveness), it will be great to see the following in our coming days of life:

• A solution/medicine/ a solid vaccine will make the pandemic germs disappear.
• Giant leaps on making positive changes on the discrimination, inequality, and humanitarian crisis issues across the world
• More entrepreneurship moves, and to take the bold step of getting out of either the comfort zone or from an under-appreciated zone to step onto entrepreneur spirit.
• More organizations to start addressing the evolving work scenario and upgrade their process and system gradually for the long run
• More innovative solutions to address the 'supply-chain' issue across the world because of the pandemic
• And more.

Inflation is up in every country. The workplaces are getting empty in many places because 'the great resignation' is continuing. The pandemic is raging in full force, with new variants coming up almost every two months. The borders opened and closed; it is chaos out there.

However, changes, innovations, and transformations take time. From the perspective of a human calendar, a year is a long period. Still, in the eyes of civilizations or humanity, it's a speck of dust (not comparing to the universe level, because the comparison will be impossible to do). But to have the changes, the voice requires to be heard and in loud tones.?

It can be for our personal life or workspace; it can be raised for societal causes, or, to protest against prejudice, it can be for a humanitarian reason. Whatever issue or problem we face, we can flag our concerns meaningfully. It is better to suggest how to solve it; otherwise, where's our contribution to the cause?

Endnotes about the tigers, and the earth

Coming back to the year of the tiger, we need to start building more awareness on climate change matters from an individual and societal level. The way we interact with nature and vandalize it daily, we require to take a step back and identify what else can be improved.

The improvement or change needs to be done in our individual levels too. Raising concern for a solution is one thing; making a change in our daily life to support the cause is another.

The reason: climate change and the adjacent crisis is real. The way humanity is progressing requires changes at all levels. The 6th mass extinction is underway, and if we don't make a change, there will be no tigers and no humans who can celebrate the year of the tiger.

Just a caution to think about our steps in the new lunar year.

Enjoy, and stay safe.