Endings are beginnings.
While we tend to draw a line between the end of a year and the start of a new one, in reality, the overlap and blurred lines often mean that whatever you are trying to end often finds its way into the new beginnings.
But everybody has their own approach to endings and beginnings.
What do SilverStreak contributors feel about the year that’s coming to an end, and the arrival of 2024?
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Into Uncharted Territory — Kim Lee
Life’s only constant is change, yes? I love gardening, so I tend to see things through a gardening lens, physically and metaphorically. I find the garden an excellent teacher for life.
We can garden with denial, fear, anger and resentment, or acceptance, love, empathy and kindness. Think of them as toxins versus enhancers for life.
I discovered early in 2023 that a relationship I believed secure and supportive was not what I thought.
Yet, as that door closed, others opened, and the year is ending on a high of deeper insights and relationships, some unexpected adventure, new friends, and exciting possibilities ahead.
I feel grateful and blessed for all that has happened in 2023, warts and all.
For most of us reading this, 2024 is another year deeper into our silver season.
The territory ahead is uncharted, because no generation has experienced the intensity of local and global conditions that are fast unfolding.
For all that, life has never been better, more exciting, more exhilarating.
Motto for 2024: The year for getting stronger.
Gratitude And Memories — Uncle Gerry Rezel
Turning 70 in 2023 was definitely my highlight.
I had the great fortune to travel on a five-day trip from Edinburgh, with one of my best and oldest friends, on the leisurely and luxurious Royal Scotsman train in May.
We got to enjoy amazing scenery, including the mysterious Loch Ness and visiting famous sites like Stirling Castle with its rich historical heritage, and whisky, of course.
At 70, I feel so much gratitude for the past and am filled with anticipation for the future.
I took the opportunity to reflect on my journey, one filled with a colorful blend of accomplishments, challenges, and most definitely cherished memories.
So glad that I had the opportunity to embrace my true self and was able to express it in the way I lived my life. No regrets. What a blessing!
I will continue to live my life and celebrate each day. Try new things, explore different horizons. And I hope to share stories and my favorite music, impart lessons and savor simple joys with simple and uncomplicated people around me.
And…I’ve yet to be addressed as “Uncle” at supermarkets and hawker centres! I need more silver streaks in my hair.
Motto For 2024: We can have forever. Forever is our today.
Losing And Gaining — Sylvia Toh Paik Choo
Hello, Goodbye is a song by The Beatles (1967) and has for its theme, duality.
Depending on the use of the comma, or not.
For me it was Goodbye to the lockdown, in 2023, and — touch wood! — I hope not Hello to another pandemic in 2024.
I lost a few good friends (illness), and made several new friends (silvers) here in SilverStreak.
We meet and eat — and should sing and dance — and play catch ball with ideas.
We hope and wish more of you out there will join us on this platform.
Come on in, the party’s here, I wish us everyone…
Wealth in Health.
Motto For 2024: I hope I remember my new year resolutions by February.
Digging In Her Heels — S. Rani Pillai
2023 was full of challenges. I farewelled a loved one to cancer and spent the months after spiralling into near depression, but faith and fortitude prevailed.
Lots of me time, going away on short weekend get aways to recharge and renew the soul.
And here I am, stronger for it, digging in my heels deep and looking forward to 2024. Have already made travel plans.
Motto For 2024: This too shall pass! Bring it on!
Challenging The Comfort Zones — Jasmine Adams
Met a wonderful man who prioritises giving underprivileged and impoverished communities a leg up.
Being an individual, he can only do so much, so he supplies and instals water filters to convert non-potable water into drinking water.
Through him, I visited Sumba, an island 2,000km from Singapore on a mission with International Medical Relief and HAND (Humanitarian Assistance Network for Development), seeing how lives can be transformed.
On the writing front, the cookbook which I co-edited, Heritage Food of the Indian Peranakans was published and launched in November.
In 2024, I hope to be able to contribute even in a small way to Water For Living and through that, embark on adventures which will take me out of my comfort zone and challenge me to make this last leg meaningful to others.
Motto For 2024: Be what we can be without justification or excuses.
Unfound Anxiety — Balvinder Sandhu
My highlight of the year was turning 50. Not a ‘highlight’ I was looking forward to but now that it has happened, I realised I was anxious for nothing.
Age truly is just a number and it helps when you feel 30 most of the time (although your body keeps reminding you that you’re not!).
I also loved that I could travel again to see my family and my in-laws (we last met before Covid).
In 2024, I hope to finally be able to master the art of going to bed at a decent time.
Motto For 2024: Embrace getting older and make the most of the ups and downs.
Core Of The Retiree Adventurer — Leon Pereira
2023 was the first full year of my retirement. After more than four decades of working, I finally had the freedom to pursue my passions and interests.
It was not easy to adjust to this new life, but I was determined to stay active and engaged, and not let myself become idle or bored.
I embarked on various adventures, such as photography trips, DIY projects, de-cluttering and exploring the hidden gems of my past and present, as well as sampling new cuisines I had never tried before.
These activities brought me joy and satisfaction and made me appreciate the simple pleasures of life.
But the highlight of the year was undoubtedly travelling to Tokyo again, and again, for short getaways with my wife.
I realise that my core muscles need some work. They are essential for maintaining my balance, posture and strength, and for preventing injuries and pains; that will be the core focus for 2024.
I am confident that my friends at SilverStreak will have plenty of tips and suggestions to help us achieve our goal, and I look forward to learning from their wisdom and experience.
Motto For 2024: Find out what truly makes me happy.
Embracing The Future — Lena Soh-Ng
I used to travel for work or leisure but for the first time this year, I travelled for a wedding and a funeral.
The term “revenge travel” has often been used — probably overused — but, in my case, I’ve proudly experienced “Purpose Travel”.
Funny, even when the world is seemingly smaller with everyone just a Zoom away, nothing takes away in-person connections: Whether for celebrations or condolences.
I love how generative AI has changed our lives. Being in the business of information, it will be interesting to see how disinformation unfolds, especially with the many Presidential elections next year.
Thankfully what has become better with AI are the chatbots. These days, waiting an eternity on the phone while the ‘other’ side says, “push 2 for sales or 3 for customer service”, is no longer the case.
I can’t wait for the day when I just tell the car my destination, and it takes me there.
Motto For 2024: Open my mind to possibilities, think I've been the sceptic for too long.
Enjoying The Garden — Tan Ban Huat
Keng Teck Whay (KTW) was formed in 1831 by 36 Peranakan businessmen who had moved from Melaka to Singapore; part of the early wave of settlers following the arrival of Stamford Raffles.
My great (X4) grandfather was one of the founding members of KTW. He was my first ancestor in Singapore.
I contributed a chapter on him and his two sons to the book Keng Teck Whay: 200 Years of Brotherhood.
Another highlight was a literary trip to England. I have always wanted to see the historic homes and other places associated with the great writers in the English countryside, and over the years, I have been able to visit a few of them. This time, it was a road trip with a clear focus on English Literature!
One thing that could have been better this year: being more regular at the gym. Enough said!
Motto For 2024: None (Aiyee, NO MOTTO!)
Drumming Up Desires — Valerie Valberg-Yeoh
After working hard on drumming for over a decade, I set my personal goal for 2023: To challenge myself by taking part in a competition. That meant putting in the hours to be ready which I dutifully did throughout the year.
While I was in the studio practicing, I noticed I was being watched by a young, maybe 20-year-old girl who had been practising in the next room.
I smiled at her, and then to myself because normally I am the one watching the young drummers and wishing I was privileged like them to start lessons early in life.
I am happy I did not give up along the way. Despite breaking my toe just before the competition, I’m pleased to have come in third.
As for 2024, it will be another round of goal-setting for all spheres of my life. I am inspired by the adage of Ralph Waldo Emerson: The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.
Motto For 2024: I shall strive to thrive and live the year with verve and energy.
Authenticity And Courage — James Leong
As 2023 draws to a close I say goodbye to anxiety and hello to the power of acceptance to things and people, and circumstances we have no control over.
But a bigger hello to courage; to exercise our authenticity in spite of entrenched narratives that keep us locked and paralysed into guilt and emotional inertia.
Motto For 2024: Lean into discomfort with courage.
Light And Dark — William Timmermann
In 2023, we witnessed a blend of joys and sorrows. The world emerged from the throes of the pandemic, but, amidst the renewed vibrancy, dark shadows in the form of unspeakable tragedies unfolded in several corners of the world.
We are seeing storm clouds gather, reminding us of the fragility of our individual, and communal, well-being.
In the face of this interplay of light and dark, it is important that 2024 be a year of introspection, appreciation, and positivity.
Reflecting on the past enables us to cherish the present, but we also must recognise the ephemeral nature of life and the persistence of challenges.
Despite the enormity and seeming intractability of global issues, a poignant truth remains: even a single candle has the power to dispel darkness and, even as individuals, we can contribute to a brighter collective future. But only if we take action.
Let the coming year be a testament to resilience, tenacity and compassion. It is important to embrace every moment of life to the fullest while not forgetting to extend a helping hand to others.
Each act of kindness, no matter how small, has the potential to ripple through the fabric of humanity, fostering a sense of connection and shared responsibility.
As we step into 2024, let’s make it a year in which we allow the light within us to illuminate our communities – small and large – creating a tapestry of optimism, understanding, and care.
Motto for 2024: Learn from the past, live in the present, work towards a better future.
Discovering Her Purpose — Monica Yeo-Alsagoff
As we enter the last weeks of 2023, I have a mixed bag of sentiments; some more bullish than others.
For me, 2023 has been a year of travel like no other, and it has been a roller coaster ride, personally and globally. It has been a year of buying experiences, not things (well, some). What I found that is definitive this year was the clarity about what’s hype and what’s real in my life.
Life was pretty smooth sailing, and I went with the flow, even when my WhatsApp account was hacked
Sadly, ageism is still rocking in Singapore and what an irony when the retirement and re-employment ages are set to be raised to 65 and 70, respectively, by 2030.
If workplace ageism is not adequately tackled, older workers may be at risk of discrimination for nearly half their working lives. This should not sit well with a super-aged country that is trying to promote active ageing.
This experience made me reflect on what’s next for my next chapter as I reach another milestone year.
“Living my best life” doesn’t stop just because I’m getting older, in fact it made me more determined to prove the statistics wrong.
My key to living a full life with happiness and abundance has always been “to discover that purpose” and use it like a compass to guide me in the direction of my passions and my dreams.
We are never too old to reinvent ourselves. Let’s celebrate endings for they precede new beginnings.
Motto For 2024: You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.
Steering My Own Course — Kannan Chandran
The years roll swiftly by. No time to stop and ponder as we hurtle through the hours, days, weeks and months.
If the Covid years flew by for me, the year following the pandemic seemed to have picked up pace. Never short of things to do; but that’s been my life. And I’m glad that it continues at this pace, and that I can still keep pace with it.
Oubaitori is a Japanese word and a philosophical concept that likens life to that of flowers.
Every flower grows at its own pace and blooms with its own colours, aroma and fruit and eventually returns to the ground. Each of us lives our own life, taking it as far as possible without need for comparison with others.
I’ve always measured myself against myself. No point doing it any other way.
To me, I’m the only constant in a sea of variables, and while I’ll take reference points from other lights that blink in the swirling sea of time, I’ll chart my own meandering scenic route through life.
Taking things as they come has resulted in new connections, the chance to explore new lands and come across new opportunities. The desire to feed the fire of curiosity that should never be doused has helped to keep the world vivid for me.
Motto For 2024: Be present.
