You probably know that feeling, when you push hard to achieve something you really want, and then something happens that pulls out the plug on your efforts? You are lost with zero energy, and your finger nails try to hang up to a dream but you are sliding down, as is you’re on the slope of an iceberg… That sums up pretty much my ongoing struggle get to the NamibRace during the pandemic. It started with setting this race as my goal for 2020, at the end of April 2020. Then came COVID and it was postponed to November 2020, and then to April 2021… And now, it is postponed yet another time – till October 2021. Each time, training schedule was reset, adjusting to new weather conditions, COVID limitations and what not.

So now to plan B.

There should always be a plan B.

Originally, I planned my final heavy-duty weekend of training to be on the weekend of March 26th. So we had to find an alternative iceberg to hang on to. Here comes my coach, Pano Koter. He came up with an idea to run the Sanhedrin trail, a 115 km trail with close to 3,000 vertical climb. The trail crosses the Lower Galilee from west to east, from Bet She’arim to Tiberias, passing through several ancient sites that are associated with the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Rabbinical Leadership and Court in Roman-period Galilee that was composed of 70 Rabbis. Part of this trail is merged with the main Jesus Trail hiking route that its 65km begins in Nazareth and goes all the way to Capernaum on the sea of Galilee. We decided to run the Sanhedrin trail from east to west, adding a few climbs… Going this way, our end point is Alexander Zaïd monument.

Alexander Zaïd was one of the founders of the Jewish defense organizations Bar Giora and Hashomer, and a prominent figure of the Second Aliyah. Zaïd survived two attacks by Arabs, but on the night of 10 July 1938, he was killed. He was ambushed by an Arab gang while on his way to meet members of kibbutz Alonim. The killer was Qassem Tabash, a Bedouin from the al-Hilaf tribe. In 1942, the Palmach killed Tabash in retaliation. On a hilltop overlooking the Jezreel Valley is a bronze statue of Alexander Zaïd on horseback sculpted by David Polus.

We started the trail at 08:00, morning of March 25th, in Tiberias, where Sanhedrin operated during the last period of being headed by Rabi Yehuda Ha’Nasi. The trail started with the major climb to Mt Arbel, going from -200m (sub sea level) to about +150. A beautiful climb overlooking the sea of Galilee. This climb was followed by a trail to Horns of Hattin, where on July 4th 1187, the Muslim army led by Saladin defeated the crusaders in a battle that marked the beginning of the Muslim takeover of the holy land. The road, not well marked, led us through spring blossom, and high bush. The hills carries us to finish the first 42km in Cana. This village is the traditional site of the wedding feast where Jesus performed his first miracle of turning water into wine.

We then pushed towards Zippori, halfway between the Mediterranean Sea and the Sea of Galilee. The name ” Zippori” comes from the Hebrew word tsipor which means “bird,” presumably for the birds-eye view afforded from its hill. The historian Josephus described it as “the ornament of all Galilee” and it was the administrative capital of the Galilee in the 1st century. It features an impressive archeology site dating back to the Hasmoneans who settled there in the 2nd century BC, as well as subsequent Byzantine, Arab and Crusader ruins. A few km after Zippori, in the dark, we entered Netofa Valley marking the end the the first 60km.

Entering the valley also marked the beginning of the most muddy part of the trail… the valley, often flooded in winter kept its promise and our shoes accumulated significant sticky mud that tripled their weight and more… About 8km into that section we started our second significant climb to Yodfat. The place is also a symbol of the Great Revolt against the Roman empire during the 1st century. The Siege of Yodfat was a 47-day siege by Roman forces of the Jewish town of Yodfat which took place in 67 CE, during the Great Revolt. Led by Roman General Vespasian and his son Titus, both future emperors, the siege ended with the sacking of the town, the deaths of most of its inhabitants and the enslavement of the rest. It was the second bloodiest battle of the revolt, surpassed only by the Siege of Jerusalem, and the longest except for Jerusalem and Masada. The siege was chronicled by Josephus, who had personally commanded the Jewish forces at Yodfat and was subsequently captured by the Romans.

Luckily the climb to Yodfat was moderate slope, so we reached the decent towards the valley and Shfar’am (Arabic: شفاعمرو‎, Šafāʻamr, Hebrew: שְׁפַרְעָם‎, Šəfarʻam). Shfar’am is an Arab city  with a Sunni Muslim majority and large Christian Arab and Druze minorities. In Roman times – the place of the Sanhendrin, so there is also an ancient synagogue. The Crusaders built here a fort to protect the road from Acre to Nazareth. Later, a fort was built in the 18th century. We felt good on the way, personally I felt surprisingly fresh. My partner had a disturbing blister on the left foot, and we decided the take of it as we enter the town. Nothing prepared us to the drama to follow…

We entered Shfar’am at about 3AM after 90 km of the trail, looking for a place where we can sit to take care of my partners blister. We found a nice wall, 90cm or so high. He took off his left shoes to find an impressive blister at the bottom of his foot. Pulled out my blister kit and started to treat it. Before I knew it, he was down there, face down on the pavement… not believing it, I called his name, gently touched his face, making sure he is responsive. Got him sit down against the wall – now on the floor, not on top of it. he was all bloody, it was evident he broke his nose, and god’s knows what else… at this point I was relieved he was breathing and talking. Tried to support him with my right hand, and simultaneously call our support team to come over as fast as they can. My hypothermal fingers did not respond so well at first. As we wait, his face started to swell, and I was so so happy to see our support team that rushed him to the nearest ER. After numerous examinations it was concluded that it is only a broken nose… we got lucky this time.

As for me… my first thought was to finish the trail on my own. Only 21km left, I thought, but then came the adrenalin drop, and the hypothermia. Let alone our instructions, that were to proceed only in couples at nighttime. So… called my wife to pick me up, got a shower, an hour of sleep, and drove to the finish point to meet the other 3 who finished the whole trail and another 30 who ran parts of it that night… what an end, sliding down the iceberg again.

What’s next? Well now its time to focus on training for the NamibRace in Octeber (for the 4th time…).

Till then, see ya on the trails!

Israel Antiquities Authority Official Channel:

“Sanhedrin Trail crosses the Lower Galilee from west to east, from Bet She’arim to Tiberias, passing through several ancient sites that are associated with the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Rabbinical Leadership and Court in Roman-period Galilee that was composed of 70 Rabbis. The trail was formally dedicated to the State of Israel, in honor of the State’s 70th birthday, celebrated in May 2018. The trail links the trailers who hike it with the Galilean landscape and its rich cultural heritage, its environment, nature and archaeological and historical sites, and with the many varied cultures that have influenced the region down to the present day. The creation of the trail was carried out by the active participation of thousands of pupils, youth and volunteers from all backgrounds and from all fields of life, who took part in archaeological excavations, created, prepared and signposted the trail, and developed the archaeological sites along it. Jewish, Moslem, Christian, Bedouin, Druze and Circassian pupils, pre-army groups, students and youth on a pre-university ‘gap-year’ from abroad, worked alongside groups of pensioners, army-disabled volunteers and special needs groups, all experiencing the Sanhedrin Trail by hiking, learning and experiencing. The trail is undergoing continuous development by the exposure of the archaeological sites along the route, and by the significant educational activities carried out along the trail, and the developments will continue in the future.”

Part of my job (really) is to look far into the future, and try to figure out the world needs, how people will live, the GIGA forces that will shape the human environment. Looking far provides clarity and perspective, and also the space to assume nothing is impossible. In these games, the year of 2050 is often used as a year where global leaders and governments aim with their long term roadmaps. I just realized that this is also the year that I will be 86 years old. And if I do get there (alive…) it means that I outlived my father who passed on January 4th 2020.

When I came back from the Gobi March race in August 2019, I had this deep feeling of unrest. It was not too long that I realized that global sustainability is this bug behind this unrest. Later that year I started working on packaging sustainability strategic projects, to be followed by renewable energy strategies, then food waste reduction initiative, and recently also sustainable sourcing roadmap.

As I was thinking about 2050, and becoming 86 years old some day, it just hit me that people often ask: “what will be left for our children? what world are we handing over to them?”. Then I realized, that I am fortunate. Fortunate to actively contribute to the future of my grandkids that were not even born yet…

So below are some photos from my runs, to celebrate the beauty around us, and to remind us to keep this planet viable and beautiful for us the generations to follow.

See ya on the trails…

Covid-19 is reshaping so many things in our lives. Society, economy, relations between people, security, confidence, all (and more) are shaken in a way most of us have never seen before. Truly, its magnitude is enormous, more of a new world war – just different battle fields. It makes you reconsider so many things in your life, what you really value? what’s important? what should i do in the future? would there be one?

During quarantine time I found running as the best relief. Since I live in the countryside, I was fortunate enough to be able to start the trails as close as 100 m from my house. Escaping from the turmoil for 1-2 hours was a true pleasure. It forced mt to cut down distances, but also to be creative and run trails close to home, that I have never run before. Having said that, my mind was distracted often, and I bet I twisted my ankle more than I could imagine. The peak was missing a hiding snake in the low grass, that bite me… luckily it was a “dry bite” wit very little venom and the effect was very local, some blood clothing, and 2 weeks of local pain.

As the quarantine was lifted, distances became longer again, and two great things happened. First, I started combining running with writing. Lilach started an “online” poetry writing group, which I gladly joined. I often find myself “writing” poems in my mind as I run, stop to record line on my mobile, hurry home to write them down. That with photos from my runs become great memories.

Then came the new challenge. Since flights are practically off, and no races, my brother talked me into taking a new challenge, here in the Negev desert. To run the “Makhtesh Ramon Circular Trail”. It is a ~125 km trail with approximately 3,500 meters climb, as a stage run in 3 days. Shortly after it became a “friends run” mini event, and it seems that at the end of September 2020 there will be over 40 of us on the trail.

Ramon Crater is a geological feature of Israel‘s Negev desert. Located at the peak of Mount Negev, some 85 km south of the city of Beersheba, the land form is not an impact crater from a meteor nor a volcanic crater formed by a volcanic eruption, but rather is the world’s largest “erosion cirque” (steep head valley or box canyons). The formation is 40 km long, 2–10 km wide and 500 meters deep, and is shaped like an elongated heart. The only settlement in the area is the small town of Mitzpe Ramon (“Ramon Lookout”) located on the northern edge of the depression. Today the area forms Israel’s largest national park, the Ramon Nature Reserve.

Running this trail is the new challenge – to be completed September 24-26th.

Till then, see ya on the trails!

That quote of Geoff Roes (2010 Western States 100 champion) caught my attention last night…

The past few weeks have been ultra intensive. Four weeks ago I got the phone call, appointing me to run the COVID-19 crisis management team of the company. Setting teams across the globe, playing a whole new ballgame that was never played before, with its rules changing by the hour, sometimes by the minute. No working hours, just a long trail of minutes, minor, medium, big decisions. So many aspects to the crisis, beyond words. Protecting the people was always and still is the key. Safe, protected, healthy and calm people make societies win such battles. Business is not different.

Moving through extreme contrasts between operational and psychological aspects became a new normal. A time of uncertainty is probably the most challenging in human mental states.  As we applied one procedure, the regulation changed again and again. Supply chain; setting new routines and guidelines; addressing our management and board questions and concerns; as demanding as they are, these are technical “to do” things. I found managing peoples confidence and resilience to be the most challenging part. To sum it up shortly, I can describe this task as: i. Major in psychology could be useful; and ii. crisis management is like barbecue with friends… it hot… your fingers get burned… and yet there are at least three guys giving you advise…   

To keep some sanity in the process, I tried to keep most part of my training plans for the Namib Race 2020. Some of them, performed in the middle of the night, were interrupted by urgent calls. More than once of found my self sprinting home to make sure things do not go out of control. Although it was naive, I kept the belief that the race will not be cancelled. That hope died when I was notified that my flights were cancelled… That day, I committed myself to run my own solo equivalent race on the same dates here in Israel. However…

A few days later I got this from Racing The Planet team:

“We have considered cancelling the event… but we feel during this time of challenge and darkness, it is important to have a light at the end of the tunnel, a goal to work towards as athletes, adventure seekers and also as global citizens… The Namib Race 2020 will be rescheduled to Thursday 5 November 2020…”. 

Thank you guys for this light!  Together we can go through the low points and move on. Hope to see you then!

Till then… see you on the trails!

This weekend runs were all about what goes on these days, the global turmoil, real or not – this is how life around the globe look like for most of us. I was thinking what I can take from running to help me go through this period of my life. Especially since it appears this COVID-19 time is a once in a lifetime experience for most of us. First thought was that we got used to live in an “instant” environment, where everything is literally at the tip or our pointing finger… we learn, consume, interact, communicate, buy, entertain, all in a split of a second. In a 20min net time of a digital episode, we get the background, go into a mega crisis, dive into bottoms and then in 30 sec we gain strength, fight back, and in 19 min “problem is solved” and we still have a 45 sec for a happy ending and credits… Well, reality as we know it is a bit different. It is not only a disappointing realistic observation, it is also a source of dissonance when we face a major challenge: no script, no pattern, no secured happy ending, unknown time frame… a land of uncertainty.

Personally, I do not believe in ‘concurring the fear’ rather in managing it and channeling it into productive activities. So, what was I thinking about while running? I thought about the long journey from anxiety to fear, and how to turn it to determination and action.

Some definitions for a start? Anxiety is a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome. Panic is a sudden uncontrollable fear or anxiety, often causing wildly unthinking behavior. Fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat. All of us may have a fine mix of those as we experience current happenings. Very similar to feeling we may have during preparation, start line and all the way in a long trail running race.

Next, what can I/we do? There are many papers written about managing fear, and in theory they are probably right. I picked those suggestions that I understand how to build upon and resonate with my experience in trail running. This post is probably a reflection of the first suggestion: “Embrace it”. Do not fear the fear. It is there to help you direct your actions, so let it in, its fine. Then “take the time”; life is not a Netflix episode, so take the time, stop for a minute, consider your options, plan, and pace yourself based on the changing reality. Understand the fear, what are your main concerns, and literally write them down. Think long term but break your long-term goal/distance into shorter, measurable and doable actions. Learn, prepare, practice; get as much information about the challenge and reduce the unknown part to minimum. Then, prepare and practice, one step at a time, learn from others (someone else who has accomplished it before? someone written a book?). Stay positive, keep on pushing as if anything is possible. Do not focus on the finish line, visualize success. I find it elevating during stressful moments. Don’t be shy, get help from fellow “runners” with you on the trail, as well as the volunteers at the aid stations. There are plenty of people willing to help, use it, let them reach out for you, you are not alone. And do help others, it will help you face you own fears.

And one day, after we collectively cross the finish line, we will wake up the day after. Our muscles sore, body aces in organs we were not aware of their existence. But we will look back with pride, how we faced our fears, embraced them, got help from known and newly met friends, and helped others. It will become yet another precious moment in our past. We will try to relive moment after moment of that journey and realize how we evolved and grew stronger from it.

And remember “The difficult is what takes a little time; the impossible is what takes a little longer” (George Santayana).

See ya on the trails!

Eyal

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It is almost a month since my father closed his eyes for the last time. My beautiful father. This post is a bit different, not much running, more about memories and what’s important in life. So this is what I wrote and read in the funeral:

“On the way, driving, I heard a song saying “Abraham, do not touch that child…” and I asked too, but it did not work. A so, like king David, you went out to the yard to open the gate, and he found you there. David.

My father, a child on the laps of a Romanian girl in the village. On a wagon, deported. Walks along the room walls to avoid his dead grandma. Runs with grandpa between the bombs, seeking shelter in the trenches. Hiding in the toilets with Ezra your brother, to eat the cake grandma sent. Crossing the continent after the war by train just to catch the buns at the window in Amsterdam railway station.

Excited to see Haifa harbor lights after a week at sea. Charming mother by the water fountain in the steaming Beit Shean valley. Firing a “fiat” rocket in your army training, and remembering Leibowitz hat floating in the river as you crossed it. Building your home in kibbutz Tel Amal, work night and days out in the fields, saving young gazelle hiding in the growing wheat.

Celebrates and happy with his children, mourns the loss of his first boy, so young… over fifty years ago, seems like today. Leaves the kibbutz, build a home in the city,  a warm and hugging family nest, with diverse neighbors, and kids with bread and jam on the grass. Hikes and travel with us across the country, knowing every farmer in the fields and the mountains. Teaching me to know each soil, row and furrow. 

You, who came back from this horrible war in 1973 and sworn not to shave until peace comes. That when Sharon entered our home with her head shaved, and mother stood there jaw dropped, you said: “you look great”. That let us fall a rise and respected our will to be independent. That welcomed your guests wearing gallabieh and serving steaming coffee. You, that kept complaining that the painful back stands between the head and the bottoms, but agreed with me that the alternative is sanitary questionable. That somehow, Afula was the center of the world for you, and that your eyes shined when you talked about your grand and grand-grand children. That they remember with love how you said that each person is born what he is, and so do gay people, so why making such a big deal about this.  That of all the things you could tell my daughter when she traveled to see the camps in Poland, you asked her to contribute to the society and the community.

Dad. That I was smart enough to start telling you how much I love you two years ago. So here, one more time: I love you.

Kisses and a big hug. Rest in peace.” 

And all along this week, this touching song of James Blunt played again and again in my head.

“Monsters” by James Blunt

Not a psychologist or therapist, but as most long distance runners know – mental strength is definitely part of the game. Recently, during my long runs, I started thinking of the depth you reach in while competing in a long race. Particularly, I was trying to recall specific thoughts and classify them. Being an engineer, the urge of putting things in some logical order is impossible to control.

First, I tried to think of the axes along which the thoughts align. Many ideas came up, but I made the choice to define them based on my thoughts rather than reading other papers that may fit many people. This is because it is important for me to define these for my future personal experiences. The axes I chose are time and “positive-negative” scales. For simplicity I divided these axes to minimum number of categories. Time scales goes from “past” to “future” through “here and now’. The “positive-negative” scale is even more simple and split to “negative” and “positive”. Now that there is a map, it was time to place the thoughts on this matrix.

Placing the thoughts on the map seemed to be easy when they came up as I was running, but as I set in front of it in my living room the thoughts were hard to find and recall… not giving up on the concept, I did collect examples and placed them on this matrix. Figuratively I think it could look like this:

Now that I got my thoughts in some kind of logic order, my question was: where do I find myself spending more time? which part of this matrix works better for me? Honestly, “future” thoughts are not very productive for me, fantasizing on the future during the run put long term goals that I find often very useful during training are frustrating me during a race. Here and now – this is a very operational part of the race, helps me to be functional, overcome here-and-now problems and crisis. Surprisingly (or not?) what works best for me are thoughts that take me to the extreme: bring me to tears OR make me burst laughing. Deep dark memories, traumatic ones, may pop into my thoughts and somehow drive my run. Similarly, on the very end of the “happiness” scale (just invented it now…) I find laughing so helpful. This relieving laugh comes many times when I try to fool/cheat myself by thinking “it is almost over”, and then thinking how stupid I think I am…. Oh, and one that I really like is simply telling myself jokes…

And how about you?

If you got all the way down to this end, share with me: What are your thoughts? what helps you during the race?

Till then: see ya on the trails!

Time to follow the next dream, time for new fears, new gaps in the knowledge, new doubts, time to re-find the inner strength, time for a new search. No worries, I am not quitting my great job, only choosing my new running adventure. A couple of months ago, I decided to challenge myself with a second “4 Deserts” race, this time in Namibia. A “yellow-brown” race, unlike the green horizons of Mongolia last summer. After building the base, December 1st marks the beginning of the “official” training period for the start line on April 26, 2020.

The more I think of it I understand that this race is a completely different challenge. The more I understand this – the more I am excited to confront the challenge and test myself again. I remind myself that the best moments of running in pouring rain is spreading your hands while running through the howling wind and the thunderstorm!

This one will be different for several reasons. The first is the new territory, the unknown terrain, climate, people.  Second is the training. Now I know what it takes, I know the pain, appreciate the dedication required and the sacrifice; will I find it again? Third, I am more experienced, I know better the food and the equipment that I need… am I? did I learn what really matters? is it relevant to this race?. And then… the race itself. I learned and experienced how a “racing the planet” race goes, but also how tough it can be, remember the small victories along the way, but also how deep I had to dig in to overcome it – do I have what it takes to do it again?

So I re-embark upon this journey, to find the answers to my doubts along the way. And for sure I will.

Till then, see you on the trails.

  (English below) שנה חדשה, יום הולדת, החלטות חדשותככה יצא שראש השנה התערבב עם יום ההולדת שלי ובלי לשים לב המחשבות על השנה החדשה מתערבבות עם המחשבות על השנה ה-56 שלי על הכדור. יש מן נטייה כזו לעשות סיכומים ומהם להתחיל לדבר על העתיד, אבל אותי זה קצת פחות מעניין. יש לנו עיניים בחזית הראש, ולכן טבעי יותר להסתכל קדימה. אז מה קדימה?

ללא ספק האתגרים האישיים והמקצועיים מתערבבים, כי קצת קשה להפריד ממה שמרכיב בסופו של דבר את מכלול החיים. קשה לי גם קצת להפריד בין השניים, כי גם ברמה המקצועית אני עובד טוב יותר כשיש מטרה (purpose). בזמן האחרון אני מוצא שהחיבור בין האישי והמקצועי מתחדד ומתעצם. בעיקר מתוך האהבה לטבע ולמרחבים שמוציאה אותי החותה לשטח לשעות ארוכות. ההערכה למה שיש סביבנו, ההכרה בחיבור בין בני אדם לבין עצמם, ובעיקר המשפחה. ועם אלה מתחזקת ההכרה שצריך לעבוד יותר קשה ויותר מהר כדי להפוך את העולם שלנו למקום קצת יותר טוב. משהו מאד יהודי לטעמי – תיקון עולם.

משימות כמו אוכל טוב יותר ליותר אנשים, וקיימות במובן הכי עמוק שלה הופכות להיות מרכזיות. ומכאן המשימות המרכזיות להמשך:

הראשונה היא דווקא המרוץ הבא. שעות ארוכות בשטח שמזכירות לי בכל פעם את כל היופי הזה שמסביב, עד כמה אני אוהב אותו ורוצה לשמור עליו. ובאותה מידה מזכירות לי בכל פעם כמה שביים אנחנו, ברי חלוף, רק חלק מאקוסיסטם אחד ענק. אנחנו אולי היצור הכי מתקדם בעולם, אבל אנחנו תלויים מאד בכל היצורים שסביבנו. והמרוץ הבא, בארץ שלא ראיתי, בתנאים שלא חוויתי, יהיו עבורי פרק חדש בהערכה לטבע.

השנייה היא האישית והמקצועית. אוכל טוב, בזבוז מזון, אנרגיה, אריזות, כולם רכיבים של קיימות שאני נוגע בהם בעשיה היומיומית המקצועית שלי. השנה הזו מסמנת עבורי משימת על שמחברת את כולם. כל אלה הם בסופו של דבר משרשרת מעגלית שבמרכזה האדם וסביבתו. אלה יהיו רכיב מרכזי בחשיבה שלי השנה, מתוך ההבנה שאסור לחכות לכך שמישהו אחר יחוקק, יבצע, יציע – אלא צריך לעשות מעשה. כל אחד בחלקתו הקטנה או הגדולה.

ובתוך כל אלה המשפחה שלי, הקרובה, הרחוקה, החברים, המכרים… ולכולם מגיע טוב. מקום טוב יותר, עולם טוב יותר. נאיבי יהיה לחשוב שהרע יעלם, אבל בלתי נמנע לדעת שידו של הטוב חייבת להיות על העליונה.

אני יכול רק לאחל לעצמי שהשנה הקרובה תהיה התחלה טובה לבאות אחריה. שנה טובה!

New Year’s, birthday, new resolutions.

So, it came out that Rosh Hashanah (Jewish new year) had mixed up with my birthday and the thoughts of the new year mixed with thoughts about my 56 year on earth. It is common to make summaries and from them to start talking about the future, but for me is a little less interesting. We have eyes in front of the head, so it is more natural to look forward. So, what’s going on?

Undoubtedly, the personal and professional challenges have been mixed up, because it is a little difficult to separate the components of life. I also have a little difficulty separating the two, because even at the professional level I am better at the point of having a purpose. Lately I find that the connection between the personal and the professional is being strengthened. Especially from the love of nature that pushes me to the hills for long hours. Appreciation for what we have around us, recognizing the connection between people and themselves, and especially the family. And with these, the consciousness that we need to work harder and faster to make our world to a better place. Something very Jewish – “Tikun Olam”.

Hence the main tasks are:

The first is the next race. Long hours in the field that remind me every time all this beauty around, how much I love it and want to keep it. And as much as it reminds me every time that we are only a part of one giant ecosystem. We may be the most advanced creature in the world, but we are very dependent on all the creatures around us. And the next race, in a country I have not seen, in conditions I have not experienced, will be a new chapter of appreciation for Nature.

The second is personal and professional. Good food, waste of food, energy, packaging, all elements of sustainability that I touch in my professional daily doing. This year marks a mission for me for connecting them together. All of these are ultimately from a circular chain centered on the people and their surroundings. It’s going to be central to my thinking this year, out of the understanding that we can’t wait for someone else to be doing it, to offer. It is up to us to get it done.

And within these, my family, the friends… and they all deserve well. A better place, a better world. Naive would be to think that the evil would be gone, but inevitably knowing that the good must be on top.

I can only wish that the coming year would be a good start for the years to come. Happy new year!