If last week was the wrap-up of the year, this week is assessing the landscape of the year to come. Dara acknowledges the generic themes he has embraced for the moment that’s in it and tries to contextualise his own attitude to the beginning of another year. Part of that attitude is informed by his birthday falling in January, something that has helped him cultivate a lifelong affinity for the month and what it can represent.
Before he gets into any of that though, he quickly goes through some notable omissions that were conspicuous by their absence in last week’s film review of 2022. After that, he takes a moment to reflect on the recent passing of a family member and attempts to articulate his relationship to loss, faith and what lives on after someone has died.
In talking about new year plans and resolutions, Dara lays out his ideas connected to fulfillment, achievement and sustainable happiness. He argues for looking at what you’ve got and making the best of it. He emphasises the importance of gratitude and warns of the perils of complacency. And he finds himself, not for the first time, singing the merits of the tiny, daily victories of a mundane, invisible life.
Happy New Year everyone!