All Fireworks Come to Harm
The final days of a year are approaching, a year that for many has been extraordinary, for others disastrous, and for those who appreciate the nuances, full of ups and downs. The past three years have taught me not to particularly value this much-anticipated date, December 31st, which many consider an opportunity to leave behind difficult days and cross the boundary of a purely symbolic milestone into another equally symbolic new beginning.
A rather indifferent day. However, the idea that someone could truly believe that with a simple passage of time, they enter automatically into a better world, without having done anything concrete to change it, seems to me, to use a euphemism, “innocent.”
This indifference, recently, has transformed into a warmth, so intense that it highlights not only the naivety of those who hope for a better world without effort but also the injustice of this hope, which ends up being cultivated at the expense of those who have truly earned that improvement by fighting and waiting patiently for their sacrifices to bear concrete fruit in the new year.
We are not all the same, and not everyone wants to live the life of others. It is right for each person to understand their life for what it is. But it is not right to alter the path of another’s life.
At a certain point within us, a mechanism is set in motion that reveals reality for what it is, not as we had imagined it until that moment. For many, this is a shock that the unconscious rejects; some suffer it passively, others take note of it, acting and doing something… for some, it is already too late.
One of the greatest powers that comes from taking care of someone is responsibility, a word that, in my opinion, is widely abused to describe situations that do not reflect the actual weight that word can carry. But, on the other hand, we are used to abusing all words, using them to create that “wow” effect that attracts attention because we are no longer able to argue our thoughts. Thus, we use these verbal tricks to get noticed, preferring the effect to the content.
These gestures reflect on actions, which, in fact, are no more dangerous than words, but create more tangible effects and break down those walls that words cannot overcome.
New Year’s fireworks not only kill and terrify, but they also hurt their handlers, who watch their “loved ones” suffer for a futile amusement, a moment that has nothing to do with the idea of ensuring a better year, not only for people but for all living beings. In the end, the new year belongs to everyone. Why not make sure it’s better for everyone, without harming anyone?