10 NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS FOR DADS

Selina Seesunkur January 6, 2021

By Jay S Khan. BA, MBA, CMgr

We will all remember the year 2020 for many different reasons and for those that are younger, you will in time learn all about this year as part of history. Bereavement, tragedies, queues, daily news conferences, confusion, and the obsession for buying toilet paper are just some of the things that will stick in the mind for many. It goes without saying that many endured hardship and obstacles unlike anything they have encountered before in their life.

The Covid-19 pandemic bought the world to its knees in a way not seen in modern times. It has been said that you would have to go back to the Second World War for a comparable time when the nation was destabilised like this. That in itself says everything about 2020 and, similarly to that period, adversity can often bring out the best in people.

Now however, with the announcement and roll out of the vaccine, there is finally some light at the end of the tunnel. Let’s hope that this is the beginning of better times ahead.

This lockdown can be a time of reflection. The iconography of the past year will no doubt shape the way we move forward. It is time to look to the year ahead and what will be the next chapter of your life. We often consider resolutions to be enacted in the New Year and, whilst before so many would have fallen by the wayside come February, 2021 should be the year that we try and properly indoctrinate them into our lives going forward.

Here are 10 simple ideas to get you started -

When making a change, always keep in mind what it is that will help to keep you motivated, and what is the outcome that you wish to achieve. This could be anything from saving money, becoming healthier, or simply enriching your own and your family’s life.

1. Eat healthy and Exercise more - Very common and popular and probably one of the most beneficial and most difficult to sustain but persistence and dedication is the key.

2. Give up a bad habit – This could be anything that you consider as a bad habit and can include the obvious ones of giving up smoking, reducing alcohol intake, or as simple as stopping biting your nails.

3. Be more Charitable with your time and money – Charity may not always be about giving money, it can be time, resources or expertise, so think about what you may have that someone less fortunate can benefit from.

4. Learn or do something new – This could be absolutely anything from cooking, learning a new language, or something far more left-field such as bog snorkelling or taking part in a cheese chasing competition!

5. Post lockdown spend more time with family and friends – This is one of the biggest things to consider coming out of an unprecedented year.

6. Do that thing you always wanted – The last 10 months has produced innovation that otherwise may not have come to the fore as a result of job losses, lockdown etc.

7. Take a chance and be adventurous – Once you hit a certain milestone in age, you tend to lose your mojo slightly, so aim to get it back and consider what adventure means for you, this could anything from hiking to taking part in boot camp.

8. Make time for yourself and go for a walk or cycle – Resolutions don’t always have to be intense, do something more calming that allows you to be self-reflective more often.

9. Resolve ongoing disputes with friends and family – As difficult as this sounds at times, the last 10 months has shown us that life is not forever and sometimes we may have to live with regrets for the rest of our lives.

10. Reduce your screen time with a ‘No device’ day - This was one that was implemented in my house for a good 4 months about 2 years ago, and this is something I will again be considering.

Read more articles by Jay S Khan

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CHRISTMAS MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Selina Seesunkur December 23, 2020

By Selina Seesunkur

I think we can all agree that Christmas 2020 will be an exceptional one for all of us. In this modern world, where we are used to roaming freely and consumerism is normally at an all-time high, we are having to adapt like never before. At the time of writing this article, Government guidelines stated that “between 23 to 27 December, if you form a Christmas bubble, do not meet with friends and family that you do not live with in your home or garden unless they are part of your Christmas bubble”. Now as we publish, we have a new Tier 4!

For those of us who have larger families, and usually meet up for a good old-fashioned shindig, I can imagine this could be quite a predicament in Tier 3. But for those of us who have no-one this Christmas, this festive holiday will still be the loneliest time of the year. As the number of Covid cases continues to increase, the country appears divided over whether the Prime Minister has done the right thing. However, with over 67,000,000 people living in the UK, and all with varying opinions, can the Prime Minister realistically ever provide the correct solution in the eyes of the public? I suspect not.

I live in a Tier 4 area, London and the rules say that “you cannot meet other people indoors unless you live with them or they are part of your support bubble”. Some were outraged and claimed Christmas had been cancelled, others felt the Prime Minister should have made the decision sooner.

Just by walking down the road, you can easily spot those who will and are deviating from the rules; people who will not give you space on the pavements, people who think it’s ok to have a cheeky drink with their mates because they think no-one will see, people who wear masks around their chins and not on their faces, and so on. Then there are those who are brave enough to venture out, wearing a mask but still showing the fear in their eyes as someone gets too close. Just by walking down the road, or by listening to people talk, you can observe the difference of opinion.

I sat in a meeting and the host wished us all a Merry Christmas, but then continued to remind us of the many lives lost this year. This loss of life is as a result of a deadly virus that hit us all, not only us as a nation, but many countries across the world. There were no boundaries the virus recognised. It hit the rich, the poor, it saw no colour, no age, it did not care if you were a sinner or a saint and it just keeps coming. Therefore, we need to continue to be careful; we must adhere to government guidance and not become increasingly dismissive and complacent. Because only then can we say, we did everything we personally could.

We must not forget the heroes amongst us, whether it’s the parent who had no choice but to continue to go out to work to put food on the table, the nurses and doctors, the police, teachers, those front-line workers who support the community in various ways, and those community volunteers who help them out, because they are the true community saints. If you cannot adhere to the rules for your own sake, then please do it for theirs.

It is not all doom and gloom, especially if you remain focused on all that you are lucky to have and cherish the people you have in your life.

So please -

Wash hands

Cover face

Make space

And have a very Merry Christmas from all of us at Centric Magazine.

DRESSING UP TO SEE THE END TO FAST FASHION THIS CHRISTMAS

Selina Seesunkur December 16, 2020

By Rachel Sterling

It’s that time of year again. The aisles are full, shelves are stocked, and queues are stretching out the door. Christmas time, or prime time for consumerism as it could also be known. Whilst Christians take time out to celebrate the birth of their Lord Jesus Christ, others simply try not to wince as they look at their diminishing bank balance.

Why has the season of comfort and joy become a source of stress for so many? Whilst finding the perfect Christmas gift for our loved ones is a source of great stress for us in the West, Christmas may signify something very different for garment factory workers in the Global South. Thoughts of piling up orders, overtime, overproduction, and underpayment spring to mind in order to meet our Christmas needs. This is not written to merely insight guilt. After all, who doesn’t love receiving thoughtful gifts and spending time with friends and family? In recent years however, I’ve been giving more and more thought to where my clothes come from. Who made them and what were they paid?

I’ve been closely following the #payup and #whomademyclothes campaigns. According to sources like Apparel Action Tracker many fast fashion brands have not paid their workers for orders they cancelled over lockdown. Therefore, they worked for free. This can be construed as modern-day slavery. At Christmas, we may feel that we desperately need that new Christmas jumper or party dress, or perhaps lounge wear is more appropriate for our current time. However, I think it’s vital to question how our consumer choices are impacting others. Do we need more stuff this Christmas? If, over lockdown, so many of us emptied our closets of clothes and things we no longer needed or used, do we really need to replace these with more of the same?

I wanted to respond to the temptation that Christmas brings to “buy, buy, buy” in a new way this year. Myself and a group of friends from my Church St Michael le Belfrey in York are part of a group called Belfrey Social Justice and we participate in Dressember. Every year hundreds don a dress or a tie every day for the month of December and get others to sponsor us to raise money for anti-human trafficking charities such as the International Justice Mission. These charities are actively working to see an end to human trafficking in our lifetime. As fast fashion is one of the main contributors to the modern-day slavery industry, it felt like a really simple way to respond. We actively encouraged participants not to buy new dresses and ties. Instead, we borrowed each other’s and then found ourselves asking why we didn’t do that all the time. It’s a lot cheaper than buying new ones!

We have also been reflecting on Sarah Lazarovic’s Buyerarchy of Needs. I fully maintain that this needs to be a societal shift and large-scale companies need to be held accountable and change their ways of overproduction, fast fashion, and modern-day slavery in their supply chain. However, as the consumer, I think we have a role to play too. If we believe our own Christmas customs are feeding these industries, then we need to look inward and see where we also could change our Christmas habits.