5 lessons from 2014

Although every day is a great day to look back and learn from our past, I feel the end of the year provides us with the perfect opportunity to reflect on our dreams, our accomplishments, and the goals that lie ahead. It’s also an ideal time to take a minute and reflect on the lessons we’ve learned, to find ways of implementing them in the times to come. They may say out with the old, and in with the new, but here are 5 lessons from 2014 I’d like all of us to carry on for years to come.

It’s all about that bass…

Whether you liked it or not, this was probably the hottest song of the summer/fall. But besides the catchy lyrics and the upbeat music, the song makes a really good point: be happy with who you are. Life is too short to waste it on body issues. I may be quite far from having a six pack, but I’m a really healthy and really happy man. Anything else is just icing on the cake. (Hmmmm. Cake…)

All lives are valuable

Tamir Rice. Michael Brown. Eric Garner. These are the names of this year’s boy, teenager and man killed by police while being unarmed and black. It’s nothing new. Hopefully their blood was not spilled in vain, and it leads to a time when we value the lives of EVERYONE the SAME. It was equally outrageous to have officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu executed by a psycho. Once again, these tragedies only reinforce what my mama says: EVERY LIFE is PRECIOUS.

There’s no need to be cruel

When thousands of unaccompanied Central American minors crossed the Mexico-US border, some idiots went protesting and shouting at these kids, who fled severe violence in their countries. Even worst, there were allegations of cruel treatment at the immigration facilities they were detained at. The people opposing the (remote) possibility of these kids staying in the US had no need to be cruel to get their point across. They could’ve just called their legislators, or their senators, and state their opposition. The US had policies in place that were implemented, and the minor crisis was controlled.

Technology has its limits

We are an advance society; there’s no doubt about that. But even with all of our technology Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 just vanished during a routine flight, and we have not being able to locate the airplane (or its remains) yet. This tragedy reminded me to enjoy the technological advances I have access to, without over-depending on them. Also, won’t let any of my devises distract me from the actual people around me.

Don’t give in to fear

A horrible, horrible disease has killed many in Africa. The fear of a possible Ebola outbreak in the US left thousands terrified, and many actions were taken out of fear, not facts. It’s important to be cautious, but beware: acting on fear may makes us more vulnerable than safe.