Life is an onion

They say one can separate the pessimists from the optimists by asking them to describe a half-filled glass: Is the glass half- empty or half-full?

But daily existence is never so absolute. Even in the darkest hours things are rarely all good, or all bad.

Instead, it is better to think of life's journey as an onion -- we peel it away one layer at a time, and sometimes we weep.

It may be a bit premature for the customary end-of-the-year editorial reflection. And one is certainly forthcoming. But we feel it necessary to provide readers with a little lift a few days ahead of the year's turn, given the slew of yearly roundups in the media that have incessantly focused on the doom and gloom of 2005.

Sometimes in their profession -- one which is still maturing in this country -- journalists fixate on the traditional precept that bad news is good news.

The daily toil of being witness to injustices, the pilfering of natural resources, the abuse of power, hardens the heart and darkens the mind. Eventually, many journalists come to seen nothing but a vista of half-empty glasses.

While we -- in our service to our readers -- continue to be critical in our ceaseless effort to uphold the public's interests, we too have at times been guilty of pessimism.

One can be a skeptic, but there is no reason to be a cynic. That is not to say we do not realize the hardships of the past 12 months. But life, after all, is hard.

Hope is what keeps us looking for a brighter day, and the challenge is to keep that hope alive.

We encourage the nation to remain hopeful; for our children, and for the belief in a democratic way of life that the people of Indonesia have struggled so painfully to construct.

The latter and early parts of the year are filled with religious significance for people of many faiths. Appropriately, this is a time to count our blessings. Ironically, it is the small miracles that occur behind the gloomy headlines which provide a spring for humanity.

Amid the continued pain of the tsunami survivors, there are stories of families rebuilding their lives. Alongside tragedies of violence, there is confidence in a sustained peace in Aceh. And between the tales of greed and corruption, there are displays of overwhelming charity and belief in the struggle to create good governance.

Instead of the autumn of defeat, let us embrace the final four days of 2005 as, in the words of one poet, "Sweet spring ... the year's pleasant king."

Even if the winds of spring can be furious, hope still blooms, allowing us to build a better tomorrow.

Perhaps providing hope is a goal we should all strive for in the coming year. Perhaps that is a New Year's resolution this newspaper will also seek to pursue.

Providing good news does not imply seeing the world through rose-colored glasses. It need not gloss over life's grievances. Instead, it is a way to provide a balanced look at the daily existence of 220 million Indonesians who subsist on both sorrow and joy.

It is about telling stories of common acts that require uncommon bravery.

If there are those few among us who can go on with life despite the overwhelming tragedies they have faced, it is then the duty of the rest of us to build on all that was good in 2005.

The spirit of this nation will be to pick up the pieces and move forward with the determination that things can get better.

Let us be somber without being gloomy.