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Viewpoint from Keith Morris 03/02/2023
 Keith Morris
In this column last February, I looked back on a quite limited locked-down year and towards maybe a brighter 2022. Whether you think that actually happened depends upon if you are an optimist (like myself) or a pessimist (or realist as my wife Nicky would describe herself)
I love the New Year celebrations, as for me they bring a chance to assess the past 12 months and look ahead to a potentially exciting next 12
 The realist in our partnership hates New Year, looking at yet another year gone by and ahead at the increased burden of caring for very aged parents a long drive away from us
I am much more positive and look towards a year of golf, football, walks, and holidays. I gloss over the other stuff and face it when I have to
I voraciously consume the news – online, in papers, the radio, and TV – and generally do not get depressed by it – though I admit that Covid brought on a much gloomier side for quite a while. Nicky, who was a GP at the time, was much more sanguine about it, having faced swine flu, bird flu and flu flu, many times before in a professional capacity
So to the question of looking back on 2022
 It is easy to see the war in Ukraine, continuing National Health concerns, the unfolding environmental catastrophe, the cost of living crisis, etc, and see nothing but doom and gloom. The optimist however, looks back on more personal highlights such as holidays, concerts, and weddings attended that had been postponed from the previous two years while acknowledging, but not being overwhelmed, by the more serious stuff going on
As an occasional reader of books, one that had been drawing my attention recently is Sapiens – a Brief History of Humankind. It gives an interesting and compelling view of human history. A recent chapter I have read points out that the last 70+ years have been probably the most peaceful in the history of our race
I am with the Apostle Paul who, even though in prison and awaiting possible execution, wrote an optimistic letter to fellow Christian believers who lived in Philippi. He wrote: “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus
If Paul can write that on Death Row, I should be able to manage it from the much more comfortable place where I am sitting
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