And so we begin again.
Another January 1st. Another year. (Of course, every day begins a new year, just with the start date shifted, but we rarely think of it that way).
What do you feel? Excited, hopeful, afraid, dreading it, tired of it all, awestruck? Perhaps all of these.
Many people look back at 2005 with some sadness. As with any year, there were ups and downs, but in 2005, there were a number of spectacular tragedies, as well as the grinding effort of a failing "war." Some people then look forward to 2006 with the hope that it will be so much better than 2005.
But we don't know.
We don't know what is coming. Living in hope and fear because we are constantly comparing the future and present to the past is itself a stressful and ultimately unsatisfactory way to live. Some people respond to uncertainty by trying even harder to clamp down on certainty-- an effort doomed to fail. Others simply give up, as if nothing we do can ultimately matter-- which is easily proven false by a cursory glance at history.
Everyone matters, and so do our everyday choices, but we are not in control of the future. Understanding this seeming contradiction is a lifelong task, the end product of which we call "wisdom."
May 2006 bring greater wisdom, to each person and to society as a whole.
And so we begin again. Life is a process of always beginning again, of always being willing to begin again.
What do you feel? Excited, hopeful, afraid, dreading it, tired of it all, awestruck? Perhaps all of these.
Many people look back at 2005 with some sadness. As with any year, there were ups and downs, but in 2005, there were a number of spectacular tragedies, as well as the grinding effort of a failing "war." Some people then look forward to 2006 with the hope that it will be so much better than 2005.
But we don't know.
We don't know what is coming. Living in hope and fear because we are constantly comparing the future and present to the past is itself a stressful and ultimately unsatisfactory way to live. Some people respond to uncertainty by trying even harder to clamp down on certainty-- an effort doomed to fail. Others simply give up, as if nothing we do can ultimately matter-- which is easily proven false by a cursory glance at history.
Everyone matters, and so do our everyday choices, but we are not in control of the future. Understanding this seeming contradiction is a lifelong task, the end product of which we call "wisdom."
May 2006 bring greater wisdom, to each person and to society as a whole.
And so we begin again. Life is a process of always beginning again, of always being willing to begin again.
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