As I write, Omicron headlines are all over every news channel. Countries are closing borders, travellers rushing for the last flights home, governments reintroduced travel restrictions and considering deferring their opening plans, etc.
Twenty-four months since the world first learned about Covid-19, we are not out of the woods yet. Anxiety, fears are overshadowing this festive season. Everyone braces a chilly winter as scientists try to understand the highly infectious new variant.
While “uncertainties” is not the favourite word for anyone, it is a fact of life. With so many festivals despite the chilly winter, perhaps our ancestors are trying to pass down some wisdom to us: to appreciate life as it gives and make the best of it as we can. As a student of Stoicism, I will end this newsletter and the year with a song my mother shared with me when I was a little girl:
“Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be) – Doris Day“
Que sera, sera. Whatever will be, will be.
The future’s not ours to see. Que sera, sera. What will be, will be.
