Liminal space that an election year brings

Why does the start of a new year often evoke both excitement and apprehension? Jan. 1 and the first week of the year arrive without us being fully prepared to embrace this transition. We’re still thinking about the unfinished business of the past year, like a song that keeps repeating itself.

Year after year, we often plan to spend a few days after Christmas, anywhere between Dec. 25 and Dec. 31, to hunker down and take a break after the chaos of the holidays, with the hurried pace of our lives starting to slow down to a crawl.

But know that this liminal space that suddenly appears in the days leading to and following the onset of a new year is a place of transition. Depending on where we are in our life journey, we may be on both sides of a threshold or only on one side of a boundary.

Although it may seem frightening from a distance, this boundary now beckons us to move to the other side with its promise of better days to come.

Creating space for reflection. The best way to utilize this moment is to create a space for reflection by going into a place that allows us to momentarily disconnect, primarily from our electronic gadgets, and secondarily from people and circumstances that may have taxed our psyche, health, and resources to their limits.

A seminary north of Boston in the United States can fit this kind of space, which we often teasingly describe as a convent during the Christmas break because of the palpable silence that descends on the campus as soon as students and faculty return to their hometowns for the holidays.

The place becomes a “monastery” when only a few dedicated souls, mostly foreign students, linger to stay. With no other choice, they spend most of their day gazing out of their dorm windows with forlorn eyes.

Here in Metro Manila, the closest place for such a break would be Antipolo or Tagaytay, but towns and cities all over this archipelago have quiet places that allow one to recharge. Introspection places are not necessarily retreat houses or fixed locations. Long drives are a great way to take mind-clearing trips, as they allow us to think deeply and disconnect from our daily routine. The journey becomes the destination in this scenario.

Who benefits and for what? By taking this journey, we gain an outside-looking-in perspective, or even a rearview mirror that shows where we are in our life journey. We can then appreciate our accomplishments and humbly learn from our past failures, which are abundant as well.

A new year’s soul-searching could further lead to the realization that humans need room for improvement, if not course correction, because we are imperfect beings living in an imperfect world. By moving through this liminal space, we can recharge. Renewing ourselves in this way can rejuvenate our physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional strength because it’s important to face 2025 with renewed optimism, joy, and determination to continue making a difference in the lives of people around us.

But what is the overall benefit to society? It’s a good idea to use this transition for personal development and growth, but the country could also reap the benefits of a collective soul-searching, as it were.

It’s important for our local and national leaders to take some time off from their busy schedules to contemplate things, particularly during this time. This year brings the nation to a historic crossroads with the 2025 midterm elections, a political exercise that serves as a referendum on the Marcos administration. The impeachment drive against Vice President Sara Duterte will certainly complicate things.

What lies before us? These are the two major political events whose ramifications will impact the remaining four years of the Marcos presidency, for good or bad. But the economic headwinds are as equally troubling. The lingering inflation pressures, including the stubbornly high prices of rice, is a frustrating development despite the lower import duties approved by the Marcos administration in July 2024.

The recently signed P6.326-trillion national budget for 2025, despite sincere efforts by Malacañang, failed to remove pork barrel funds from an election year budget, fueling suspicions that its disbursement could favor administration candidates, besides bloating the national debt.

What’s on the horizon? The changing of the guard in the United States on Jan. 20 presents both challenges and opportunities for the Philippines. But already we’re feeling the effects of a weak peso due to a surging dollar following the stunning political comeback of former president Donald Trump to the White House.

All these are food for thought for our leaders, civil society, and the electorate. As we pause to reflect on the past year and look for ways to tame the political and economic headwinds that will come our way, we can embrace this liminal space we’re currently in as a gift of time to better prepare us for the long transition that an election year brings.

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For comments: mubac@inquirer.com.ph