Here we are, 2009. A year is a funny thing. At its most basic level, a year is a measurement through space, the earth making a full revolution around the sun, returning to where it started. But it is also a measurement through time, time and space being inseparable, so we never really end up where we started.
That’s why we get so excited about the New Year. It reminds us of the journey we are all on, the inexorable movement forward through time, of the power of change and transformation in our lives, its very inevitability, and the promise that the future will be even better than what’s passed. Our celebration illuminates the infinite possibilities that life holds every day and every minute, the blessings we know will surely come. And while the calendar may mark the year out in months, weeks and days, it is in the moment that we hurtle through life toward something better.
Ah, but let us slow down and not forget Auld Lang Syne. For the ringing in of the new is also occasion to look back and collect our memories. Memories are one way we try to slow down time, and even reverse it psychologically. No one really wants to let go completely of the past; the past lives within each and every one of us. Sometimes we discover ourselves by looking back, which is why I love to think about the year that is ending, and all of the years before it. It affirms the continuity of life. Our memories measure the journey.
So I hope as 2008 bubbles into 2009, you look back with satisfaction and gratitude and forward with awe and excitement. One thing I look forward to is seeing you all at Guideposts.com.
By the way, post how you plan to celebrate the new year. I’d love to see it.
Edward Grinnan is Editor-in-Chief and Vice President of GUIDEPOSTS Publications.
