For the 4,540,927,002nd time, the third planet from the sun has once again returned to this randomly assigned point in its orbit deemed by us as the year’s end.
Ahhh, the human tendency to impose structure on chaos! To organize celestial mechanics into an order useful for our lives.
The location of this blue orb we call home relative to that fusion fireball in the sky is meaningful — more so if you are a farmer, but even to those of us who do not work outdoors under the big sky still feel the pull of the moon, the wet and dry seasons, the changing lengths of days and light. We are now in the middle of the 60 days of darkness, the month on either side of the year’s shortest day.1
Have you ever wondered why we make New Year’s Eve such a big deal? I suspect it is a tacit acknowledgment that Time is the most precious and scarce of all of our assets. The value of stocks, bonds, real estate, art, and cash rises and falls, but Time only becomes more valuable as we spend more of it.
And yet, we can be oblivious: Take a moment to reflect on where the year went — and so quickly — and what you hope for in the next one.
4.5 billion is so big a number, we prefer a 4-digit counter instead, if just for convenience’s sake. I hope your trip around the sun denoted #2021 was a good one, filled with health and joy and love. For the coming year, numbered 2022, I wish you all peace, health, happiness, and abundant wisdom.
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1. At least, in the Northern hemisphere. The Southern hemisphere is enjoying 60 days of light — the period when the sun is highest in the sky and the days last the longest.
