As we welcome 2022, it seems almost surreal that another year has closed, bringing about so many changes, that are right out of an award-winning Screen Writers script! When we recall pre covid days it’s almost with a comical sense of nostalgia and seems like we are looking back decades rather than years. Clawing and crawling through 2020 with everything hinging on Covid-19 and the constantly changing protocols we were left in a haze of confusion and chaos, with rumors rife, and everything in life being blamed on the ‘pandemic!’ We also gnawed and gnashed our way through 2021, watching our economy crumble around us, while we just looked on in horror as the prices of everything steadily rose, and the quality of life and its basic components, steadily declined. Could we keep blaming the pandemic? I mean it seems like if the leaves on one of the trees in the garden changed color, we would blame the pandemic!

We also lived and laughed our way through the hilarity of the ‘Social Olympics’ highlighting the competitive spirit which went spiraling out of control in the drive to show, show and show some more! Everything had to gleam from the surfaces on the furnisher to the surfaces on the hostess! Everything was considered a sprint since time seemed uncertain with no one wanting to put in the time for the marathons. We had to have the best guests immediately (no time to cultivate real friendships!) and needed to wear all our finery right now (who knows when the next party would be so why spread-out one’s baubles in a discreet and tasteful manner!). Everything and everyone was on the fast track. The fast track to what seemed like nowhere!

‘New’ became the bi-word of the year, where everything had to be updated and upgraded. 2021 a year that shone a harsh and glaring spotlight on our own mortality, and inevitable fact of ‘limited time,’ suddenly gave rise to even more desperate desires. How could anyone simply be satisfied with what they had when they were on what seemed a deadline to get the ‘new?’ Homes that were already beautiful needed to be spruced up, with existing amenities hurriedly upgraded. Pools became larger, and deeper and kitchens filled up with more top of the line professional grade appliances. This in many a home where the residents don’t cross the kitchen threshold except to give food orders to the staff. Orders that are usually executed in a dusty, rusty, musty basic kitchen unseen by anyone! Pools are never used, but lit up to annoy the insects, and impress guests who want to imagine they are traipsing pool side at the Grand hotel du Cap-Ferrat! Keeping in mind though that none of this would be considered worthwhile for the ‘upgraders’ if they didn’t invite guests to a watered down cocktail ‘walk through’ where every ‘upgrade’ detail gets photographed and published. Now improvements are absolutely no ones concern, if the folks doing so are using their own funds (questionable in these times!). The one concern is that when 2021 has been a year of economic horrors for the vast majority, does it make sense to splash ones splashiness? 

Relationships and marriages that may have already been balanced on the edge of a cliff teetered precariously and sometimes tumbled shattering in the abyss. With ‘uncertain times’, and the dread of ‘limited time’, some threw restraint, caution and basic values to the wind, deciding that ‘self-indulgence’ was the only way. 

Gone are the days when decisions regarding one’s life were based on thought processes, and deliberation. 2021 gave folks the green light to ‘upgrade’ their relationships as well. Why settle for the monotony of monogamy when a shiny new object comes bouncing along? These machinations were not relegated to one gender either. Men and women who felt the tug of mortality and had the time and resources to indulge their wantonness had a wonderfully decedent time taking Chubby Checker’s song “do the twist” and changing it to “do the tryst!’ I was truly shocked; maybe because as liberal minded as I am, when people enter into ‘duo status’ I still boringly believe that it means two! As Princess Diana memorably stated in the famous ‘Panorama’ interview, “there were three of us in the marriage and it became a bit crowded!” Crowded was an understatement in some relationships where greed and gluttony slid frighteningly into a numbers game in the bedroom! Who got the blame for the pants and skirts that seemed to regularly fly off? The pandemic of course!

There are also those upgraders who take their aspirations to the nearest clinic, aesthetician, and cosmetic surgeon. Men and women who were attractive to begin with, vanished for a few days from their social lives, and social media, showing back up taught and tight like the skin of a drum! Some reemerged with their assets significantly inflated and their pouts resembling an allergic reaction needing quick medical intervention! These living ‘blow up dolls’ than proceeded to parade their upgraded wares in the direction of anyone with a camera. We also had those who emerged Caucasian, having had every possible treatment to ensure that their natural skin tone was gone! Of course, none of these characters realized that unless they delete their entire social media history, there are images of them from times gone by, looking completely different. These upgraders better not ever need ‘search and rescue,’ because no one would know which version of the person they were looking for!

As we begin 2022, the one thing we are certain of is life’s uncertainty. What we can do on our journey through the New Year, and moving forward, is to lead with compassion and kindness. We cannot help everyone, but we can empathize, while considering optics and the effect we have on those around us with every utterance and posted image. Living in the now is important, while understanding that the ‘now’ we are in is a shared experience with the greater society around us. Stay mindful and real, knowing your best self is your true self. As I bid adieu to the past year I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a blessed, healthy, happy and abundance filled 2022!