Dear Editor,
Many become sentimental and emotional at this time of the year and make resolutions and promises intended for the upcoming year. Though they are good intentions, not many live up to their promises and New Year’s resolutions. Ours somehow gets lost and our direction becomes derailed; we lose the focus of our goals a few days, even weeks into the new year.
Many seek to reflect on the past year, the past weeks and months. While it is good to reminisce about one’s struggles, achievements, goals, accomplishments and progression of life itself, it is more important to find real, thought-out solutions instead of those which keep us stagnant and stationary in life. We must all seek a better life in the new year, one which is productive and fruitful for ourselves and those around us. People should empower themselves with skills and knowledge. These should be lifelong skills pursued with passion that will motivate you to wake up each morning roaring to get into the world and stir up things. Instead of complaining about everything under the sun, you should get your hands dirty on social issues, politics, education, health, security, local government ‒ get involved and make a difference.
Become proactive citizens around your communities and villages. Take care of the environment in and around you. This Earth is not ours, rather it was loaned to us by the Creator, to be cared for and nurtured, not to be littered with waste materials. The sight of persons dashing refuse especially canned items out of vehicles as they drive, drives me insane. The accumulation of garbage in the canals and drains whenever it rains is a most horrible sight to behold.
Try as much to mend broken and fractured friendships and relationships in the New Year. Take no ill will or bad feelings towards anyone into the coming year. This is a good time to re-assess our friendships and relationships with loved ones, family, friends and associates. Keep friendships with persons who can only enrich our lives and not bring us to the road of destruction. Stay as busy as you can, for you will have less time for idle behaviour, but practice good time management. This is crucial in our ever busy, ever changing world today where multi- tasking has become the new skill every person should possess.
Don’t let this opportunity of a new year, a new start and a new beginning pass you by so you do not re-evaluate your lives, personal, economic, professional, social and otherwise. Make changes that are necessary and that will benefit you and those around you. Seek more education and knowledge instead of having useless conversations and banters around you. Instead of discussing people and excessively engaging in gossip, catch up on the news happening around your country and in the world. Make the new year a year where you have as much information as possible at your disposal.
Time is a very valuable resource and must be put to the best use for it cannot be regained. Use your time efficiently in the new year. Use your time to do meaningful and enriching things. And next year would also be a good time to deeply reflect on your religious beliefs and its impact on your lives.
Guyana will become my secondary home in 2017. It is my hope to embark on a new beginning elsewhere, but rest assured, I will always find myself in Guyana whenever it is convenient and opportune for me to do so. The work that I do will always continue for in my book, nothing is impossible. I have made a solid foundation here for myself, one that can never be replaced or broken.
I restarted reporting earlier this year. I truly enjoyed this and must thank the management of DTV-8 in New Amsterdam for affording me such an opportunity to continue my passion. I do believe I have so much more to contribute to this great nation. When one truly looks in the nooks and crannies, one realizes how broken Guyana is, how its people are in pain; the turmoil many families are going through; when you travel through some parts, it is then you see the sickening living conditions in which some families and children live.
So I am not ready to give up on my country, but there is a higher calling for me so I must depart to join my mom and sister, for I have an obligation to them as well. They are my first priority.
I sincerely say I am sorry to those whom I have hurt over the past year. I did not mean to. I try my best to be a good person to those around me. If I said or did anything you thought was wrong, I apologize.
Until we meet again, stay in touch, and drop me a line here and there. I will be back. Have a happy new year.
Yours faithfully,
Leon Suseran
