…I am glad you are here. Finally. I have been waiting for you to arrive for a very long time. 2017 was not kind to me. It was probably the most difficult year since 2001. That was the year that I witnessed massive death and destruction after an earthquake in India and months later, the world changed forever with the September 11 attacks. In between, both my father and mother died. I felt burdened with grief for so many months.
2017 was difficult in other ways. I was physically debilitated for the first time in my life because of a serious spinal problem. I under
went surgery, thinking it would allow me to be free again. But days became weeks and weeks became months and I still wake up every day in pain.
I realized how hard it must be for millions of people around the world who are forced to function without full use of their bodies. I realized how not being able to perform the simplest tasks – like walking the dog or picking up a piece of paper from the floor – can lead to isolation, self-pity and eventually, depression.
Most importantly, I realized I had to be grateful for all the strengths I do have and not focus on my weaknesses. I don’t much care for New Year’s resolutions but January 1 seems an appropriate day for reflection.
In the last few months, when I have felt blue, I have thought about all the people I have met over the years through my journalism. I decided a long time ago to focus my work on people who are vulnerable and voiceless; people who have survived tremendous loss. I chose to illuminate their resilience and strength after suffering war, death, disaster, torture, rape, separation, unjust imprisonment.
I could easily have been one of them. I was left on the steps of an orphanage in Kolkata when I was just a day old. I had the incredibly good fortune of being adopted by two loving parents who gave me everything a child could ask for. I think often about all the doors that opened for me because of my parents. And now, I think, too, about the subjects of my stories. They remind me of how lucky I am.
It’s vital to keep our lives in perspective. In America, the land of plenty, it can be so easy to lose sight of all the good things that come our way. I am guilty of complaining about things that in the long run are simply not important. I am guilty of losing patience or my temper in situations that are trivial.
I believe we, as a society, have inched toward narcissism. We think too much about ourselves — the way we look and act, the material goods we want and what others may think of us.
I think I will start looking outward a bit more. Starting today, back pain or not, I will try to make life more about others and less about me.
Gratefully, yours.
