By the time you read this, the bulk of the Christmas festivities should have passed, and people will be gearing up for the New Year’s celebrations. Hearing those “New Year, New Me” lines when I was younger didn’t mean much; no one can reinvent themselves several times a month like the young.

However, the older I’ve gotten, the more I have had to stay hyper-vigilant so as not to become desensitised, overly cynical, and stuck in my ways. As you can imagine, constant access to the news and the cruelty of others has not helped with the former.

I was, however, touched by President Myriam Spiteri Debono’s first Christmas message on Christmas Eve. Sitting upright in black and reminding me a lot of my late, much-adored grandmother, she spoke about the importance of empathy, care, and “giving our day’s work”.

She added to this pointed message that we should be on the frontlines to safeguard the environment, sustainable economic development and fundamental democratic rights. She even spoke about how the future depended on the present, and urged the Maltese to do their duty to their country and each other. Speaking of the challenges faced, she remarked on the problem of poverty in an affluent society.

To me, at least, it was a powerful message full of subtle and, to be honest, not-so-subtle statements.

In reality, many in this country have not been giving their day’s work, literally or figuratively, for a long time. With every day that passes, new scandals keep coming to light of people either not doing the job they’re paid for at all or earning exorbitant amounts to do the bare minimum. It’s equal parts shocking and disgusting that the concept of working hard for the money you deserve is becoming more and more alien to my country people.

As for safeguarding the environment, the less we say about that, the better. When you don’t even see your authorities respecting the environment thanks to their constant pro-construction initiatives, it’s going to be harder for you to resist the offer of turning your father’s field into a block of flats or a ‘boutique’ hotel, however much uglier and more chaotic it makes the surroundings.

To make things even more poignant, the president’s message was conveyed on the same day that an article was published stating that The Foodbank Lifeline Foundation received a drop in donations this year despite an increase in the number of Maltese families needing help. The foundation runs solely on donations, so if fewer donate, as is happening, it won’t be able to provide its service to families in need.

We must treat this new year as an occasion for renewal and look to ourselves to see how we can grow mentally, emotionally and spiritually instead of cooking up new ways to fatten our wallets while doing the bare minimum. We need to work to inject community spirit back into our society at more than just local feasts and move away from constantly focusing on the self. The further we move away from each other, the further we move away from who we truly are.

Let’s make 2025 the year during which we cared.