Frankly ... integrated  Let Loose a Pandemic of Smiles

Whether we keep last year in good, bad or indifferent memory largely depends on the emotions we remember most. Despite all the obstacles, however, we always have some influence on our state of mind, says Sineb El Masrar.

Here we go again: we’ve made it through another year! We’ve bid farewell to 2021 and hello to 2022 – some of us sipping champagne, sparkling wine or cocktails, others slurping soft drinks, ayran or mango lassi, as we transitioned into the new year. When midnight struck, some of us were sitting, dancing or cuddling with our loved ones, or already in bed, slumbering and snoring away in the Land of Nod. Others were conceiving a child, quarrelling or feeling lonely at that hour. All of us together and each in our own way and according to our particular circumstances. Multifariously together. Which is neither bad nor good. It just might be more painful and less light-footed, depending on how you feel about it. The only thing that’s crystal clear and unambiguous is that, regardless of how each of us may feel about it, we’ve all left 2021 behind us together.

The start of a new year always means leaving the previous year behind. Whether we retain good, bad or even indifferent memories of that year largely depends on the emotions that we think, in retrospect, predominated. And that in turn influences how we see the new year – and what resolutions we make or choose not to make. It also depends on the expressions of emotion we made room for last year and how much importance we attached to them as opposed to other states of mind we also experienced and may have ignored or forgotten. So how we see the past is often selective because, depending on our personalities, we tend to magnify painful emotions and, as a result, lose sight of the moments that gave us pleasure.

A Rainbow of Emotions

Last year was probably an emotional challenge for all of us in Germany, especially right after 2020, the year in which the pandemic started – though no doubt in different ways for each of us. For the challenges each member of society faces primarily depend on family configurations, which determine how we cope with our lives and its attendant challenges in our youth, middle age and old age. The current circumstances are gruelling for some, motivating for others. But between these opposite ends of the spectrum lie shades of an emotional rainbow that offers opportunities and possibilities. A rainbow that includes shades of black and grey, because dark hours and sadness are part of life too, even a good one. Because, as they say in German, Auf Regen folgt Sonnenschein – come rain, come shine. And who doesn't know the pleasurable sensation of sunbeams, even if just for a short while, tickling the tip of one’s nose on a grey day.

Dare to be more optimistic

So let's keep this image in mind throughout the new year. And in the face of trials and tribulations, aggravation and vexations, let’s all do everything we can to hold on to our lust for life. Let’s keep our chins up even when we’re tired, angry or sad, and keep our eyes on that 2022 rainbow. Let’s try to remember good times that have made us laugh or smile. So our New Year’s resolution for 2022 could be to dare to be more cheerful and optimistic! And an extra little tip for you: hold out for 40 days at a stretch! You’ll see. You can handle life a lot better with a smile – and it’s highly contagious. Shared happiness and smiles multiply exponentially. So let's let loose a pandemic of smiles!
 

January 2022