A New Year

Over the last few days I've heard and read comments from people who have gone out of their way to deny the new year calendar date any significance in their lives. Some insist that "every day is a new beginning," while for others the calendar is just too arbitrary and they seem to resent the idea it should have any bearing on them. Individualist assertions like these don't surprise me, but sometimes I wonder whether people realize there can also be benefits to long-lasting and widely shared social conventions.

Of course the calendar is arbitrary. There were specific historical reasons why a calendar introduced by a Christian Pope in 1582 became a standard adopted by a multitude of countries around the world in subsequent years; and in the absence of this calendar it is likely another one would have acquired the same status in our closely networked world. The point, however, is that the calendar - including the new year - is something we can share, and this provides opportunities for solidarity, very much needed in our time.

I also understand how people can tire of new year's "resolutions," especially if you tend to a view of human nature that places strong emphasis on the power of habit and intractability rather than on our capacity to change through force of will. Nevertheless, a "resolution" is ultimately nothing more (nor less) than an expression of commitment, and in this sense the new year offers all of us a shared opportunity to dedicate ourselves to worthy goals. Maybe the most worthy are those that might benefit others.

This is in many ways a time of great darkness, and in future posts I will try to address some of the challenges I think may be on the near horizon. For now, though, I will say Happy New Year to you and resolve to bring what light I can offer. Let peace begin with me.