Year-End Emotions: If Generative AI Makes Me Optimistic About Future, Israel-Hamas Conflict Keeps Me Grounded
- However, the realization that life is to be lived and not over rationalized or questioned brings me some peace and acceptance.
The last month of the year incites a trove of emotions in me. Rationally, I understand that besides a change in the year entered for dates, the dawn of the New Year would not suddenly bring in other changes.
I have often wondered why I feel the way I do in December, but I have not found any easy answer. Feelings are independent of facts and rationale. These emerge and vanish at their behest.
The deluge of thoughts at the prospect of a year ending and a new year beginning are mostly random, and nonlinear and include varied topics from far and near. This overdrive of thoughts in my head in this last month includes events, but are not restricted to any specific ones or are in any particular order.
The happenings in my reverie mix help me relive the happy, neutral, and sad incidents and sometimes include hopes for the future that keep spirits alive and kicking. The myriad memory feeds on social media further aid me in jogging back down memory lane.
One recurring subject that occupies my headspace is the pace at which life is moving. While some days seem long, years seem to go by so fast. I marvel at the ways of time and how potent is the force of time.
My thoughts are also about how every year brings in changes at macro and micro levels affecting large populace or just me and my near and dear ones.
As I progress in age and hopefully maturity, it’s getting easier to accept people and happenings for what they are, without interjecting them with bias or judgments.
For the bigger and larger changes that affect us like the environment- I want to remain optimistic that we will find viable solutions that can reverse the current trends and halt further damage, but the realist in me knows that it’s a herculean undertaking.
On a positive note, I am in awe of the inventions and possibilities that the spirit of experimentation and innovation can incite going by the progress made in the AI space.
Seeing the speed at which the changes brought in by Generative AI have percolated in streams of technology, education, medicine, science, etc, the paradigm shifts affecting large swarms of the populations seem not far away.
But some events like the Israel-Hamas conflict or the news of a young life cut short make me very sad and I cannot help but think about the disparities that exist in resources and experiences in our world and how vital it is for us to bridge these chasms with real efforts and actions beyond promises and policies.
I am reflecting on changes in my body and mind at the micro level.
The realization that life is to be lived and not over-rationalized or questioned brings me some peace and acceptance. Similarly, my ability to accept rather than question the ways of the world is slowly and steadily rising.
As I progress in age and hopefully maturity, it’s getting easier to accept people and happenings for what they are, without interjecting them with bias or judgments.
I have also begun accepting everyday problems and issues as a part of life and overcoming small and big obstacles in my control as enjoyable.
I can appreciate dualities more and the desire to prove a point has been replaced by trying to understand polar perspectives and points of view without being overtly attached to a single viewpoint.
Thoughts around bodily changes indicate a growing need for taking care of this temple and the rising importance of emotional and mental health to holistic well-being.
Thanks for indulging me with your time. Does December incite any end-of-the-year thoughts in you too?
Have a happy, safe, and healthy New Year and many more to come.
Shalini Kathuria Narang is a freelance journalist and a software professional. She is also a poet and her poems have been published in several anthologies including “Starry Nights: Poetry of Diaspora in Silicon Valley” and “Pixie Dust and All Things Magical.” She is a monthly contributor to Masticadores USA and has been published by Spillwords Press and San Antonio Press. She is originally from New Delhi and currently resides in the Bay Area with her husband and daughters.