Op/Ed

Letter to the editor: Let’s strive to make 2021 a healthy, happier year

I would like to start off by wishing all a Joyous Holiday Season and a Happy New Year with the hope that 2021 is a better and safer time for all. To those that had friends or relatives suffer or succumb to COVID-19, I offer my heartfelt prayers. I have lost numerous friends and fellow law enforcement officers to this insidious plague. None of us has gone through this terrible time unscathed. In one way or another we have all been impacted.
2020 was the first time I did not see or spend time with my children and grandchildren during the holidays. I miss the smiles on their faces while opening gifts, enjoying each other’s company and having the great conversations over a wonderful meal and the bountiful, and not so heart-healthy, deserts —this all occurring with the playing of holiday music in the background. While “Zoom” has become the norm, even with family, it has not been the same. This past year has not been a time of normalcy. Some have said it is the new normal. I hope and trust not.
In this not so normal time we have to be extremely vigilant, not just due to the current pandemic, but additionally due to seasonal depression. This is being amplified by the current situation so we all have to keep an extra special eye on our seniors, neighbors, relatives, friends, and particularly those that live alone. And let us not forget our veterans. The circumstances are ripe for increased suicides during this not-so-normal time.
In the three short paragraphs above I have used the word time over a half a dozen times. This word has varying definitions, dependent upon its use and context; it could be a lifetime, a season, an opportune moment, or a prison sentence. However in a basic sense, time is that progress of existence that, once gone, is lost forever. In a week there are only 168 hours and the vast majority of that time is the “have to,” particularly if one is working. A much smaller portion is the “want to.” Time is perishable and we have to make the best use of it.
This has become increasingly more apparent due to these troubling times. It is something we can’t buy, find, or even make. The clock moves forward at its own pace and we have no control over it. It has become quite obvious that, at least to me, procrastination is the number one thief of this increasingly valuable commodity. As we all increase in age, we also lose available time, so we all must use it wisely and not dwell on the unimportant or insignificant.
Please be safe and make the best of these not-so-normal times. Care for your family, friends, and neighbors and build great memories, when and where possible. Please invest time and don’t spend it; save time and don’t waste it; and, enjoy the time you have while not regretting the time that has gone. Spend your time living a life that matters.
May 2021 be a Healthy and Happy New Year for all, and hopefully, with a return to normal times.
Tom Scanlon
Salisbury
 

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