2024–2025

Some thoughts for transition

arun simon
3 min readDec 31, 2024

31st December is just like any other day; just that some of us have celebrations or other rituals. Our state of mind can be very different at the end of 2024 — sadness to indifference to joy (or mixture of these). For some looking back is a sign of lot of joy and peace for the past year; for others, it is a relief— thank God, the year is over. For some, it is a mix; for others, we are not even sure. Whatever is the attitude, it is a fact that we have made it till now. We can accept that fact and be grateful for that fact of making it till here.

Photo by BoliviaInteligente on Unsplash

Some thoughts as we move into a new year….

  1. Let’s love ourselves. Let us be our own friends and appreciators. This is not pride or selfishness. Loving self is very important to love others too. God looks at us with kindness and love; may be we too can do the same.
  2. Comparison kills Joy. We all say proudly that i am unique, weird or crazy, but we are so used to comparisons. It destroys the beauty and joy of my achievements and talents. There can be a critique that comparison can help me to improve and it can give me a kick to work harder. I accept that point; use it as much as it is helpful for you.
  3. Is it okay to compare with myself? It’s worthwhile at some situations — helps me to improve and grow. But it is not so at other times. For eg: I am worse today in my mental health compared to 2023. Yes, it is a concern, but if I have faced terrible calamities in my life in 2024; my situation today and how I faced the struggles is itself a big testimony of the life in me. So comparison with self also has to be contextualised.
  4. Catholic church celebrates as the Jubilee year; it is a celebration of hope. Hope is difficult in the midst of war, family and personal struggles etc. Can I still find hope in Jesus? Can the example of Jesus, of building the kingdom of God, by very simple ordinary acts in his public life, inspire me and my life?
  5. We live in a polarised world; and the message of incarnation is “God became flesh and dwelt amongst us”. This “becoming” is a model for us. We are invited to “become-others”; for a man to become a woman (not gender change); to become a child; a become a refugee, low caste person, black person, transgender, an LGBTQIA person; to become an unborn child; and so on. May these “becomings” inspire our life to become better humans.
  6. Ecological crisis is a serious question and our sensibilities and capabilities to do something in this question are very different. May we be able to do a bit in our own unique way (a small drop).
  7. Gratitude vs Taken for granted. It includes God, self, others and the creation. Which one I want?
  8. Embracing Forgiveness & Kindness. Obviously Jesus invites us to embrace both. Even if I don’t want to listen to Jesus, I think forgiveness can also be one of the best choice from a selfish point of view (why to give the power of my life to some dreadful event or person). And kindness shown by others are appreciated by most of us (if not all).

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arun simon
arun simon

Written by arun simon

A Jesuit with all the crazyness… Loves Jesus…Loves church, but loves to challenge too… Loves post modern philosophy & Gilles Deleuze.. Loves deep conversations…

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