Besides the day which marks the approach of the New Year, 1st January is also commemorated as the Global Family Day every year as a global day of peace and sharing, stemming from the United Nations’ Millenium celebration. As we welcome new beginnings, let’s take out time from our hectic schedules to ponder on the value of our family in our lives. While almost all of us undoubtedly love our near and dear ones, often we do not get the time to express our true thoughts and emotions with them.

Despite being caught up in the competitive world today, it is the support system provided by our family members that gives an individual the strength to deal with the world. The family is the first institution that forms the foundation of an individual’s life, beginning from parenting an infant, and in fact, is the only institution that remains a constant variable in the individual’s life until his or her death. We humans are, by nature, social beings, and the first exposure to the social world begins with the bond we build with our parents and family members. Regardless of our nationality, religion, or community, the family members’ role in our lives is irreplaceable. Though there might be some variation in the emphasis culturally, it is an undeniable fact that families play a significant role in laying the foundation of one’s value systems of our lives.

As a single unit of society, we should spare some moments to cherish the relationship we share with our family members. Some of our fondest memories are likely to be associated with these persons, whom we might end up taking for granted, knowing and expecting them to understand us. While our family often does offer unconditional love and support, we have such firm belief and trust in their unconditional support that we might forget to acknowledge their efforts and presence. Therefore, it is on a day like this that we all could take the opportunity to reiterate the value of such members in our lives.

With the ever growing dependency on technology in today’s decade, we tend to become much more individualistic in our approach. While the developments of science and technology have helped in making the world a much smaller place, at the same time it has also widened the spaces instead of only bringing us together. Knowing that the person is simply the press of a button away, it often makes us more complacent, and ironically we might end up making less efforts towards keeping in touch.

In fact, it is also our responsibility to consider not just our blood relations as our family members, but to look at the world at large as our global family. The earth is one global unit, and it is each one of us who needs to take on the responsibility to promote peace and solidarity, and to make the world a better place to live in.

Therefore, let us all pledge to take out time this New Year, to strengthen our relationships, to spend quality time, to take a moment to connect with our relatives, to express our gratitude and acknowledge the value of these precious people, without whom our lives would not be complete.