We’ve unwrapped all the presents, devoured the Christmas cookies, visited our extended families, and the New Year’s champagne has faded away, allowing us to dive into 2023. The past 12 months were marked by the shock of inflation. It was a year significantly impacted by years of the pandemic, and it was further punctuated by the effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. What will the upcoming months hold, with the world economy in a state of war, and people who, even before inflation, lived from paycheck to paycheck, struggling to cover even their most basic expenses?
It will undoubtedly be a year filled with significant events. In January, we have the first round of presidential elections, in March, Milos Zeman’s term will come to an end, the eurozone will welcome its 20th member, Croatia, Great Britain will witness the coronation of Charles III, and hockey fans are eagerly anticipating the 87th Ice Hockey World Championship.
But it will also be a year full of everyday concerns and joys, not unlike those we regularly experience. When asked recently in a Prague elementary school what they wished for most in the new year of 2023, boys and girls thought for a moment and then unanimously replied, “Let us all be friends and keep laughing together.” In the light of current events, this New Year’s wish might seem amusing and naive, but is there not something symbolic about it in these times of armed conflict near our borders and the distressing conditions that war brings on all fronts?
The beginning of the new year inspires hope for change. We find the determination to start something new and embark on it with enthusiasm. Our wishes may be modest – to lose weight and finally fit into the trousers that have hung in our closet for a year, or more substantial – to quit our job, stop smoking, or take our family to the seaside. Often, at the start of the year, we’d rather not wish for anything at all because we don’t believe that the beginning of the new year possesses the magical power to fulfill our wishes.
One such quite ordinary human wish stuck in my head. I overheard it from a young mother a few days ago, who was walking by with her two small children and talking on the phone. “Are you asking me what I really wish for?” she replied to someone with a tired expression on her face. “Well, I’ll tell you what I wish for. I just want some time for myself, too!”
So, I wish that your very small and larger wishes come true in 2023, and if they don’t, don’t be disheartened because you can wish for something and hold onto hope for better tomorrows every day, not just on New Year’s :-).
Ivana Tykač,
