We're slowly approaching that one year mark in our relationship, for some a celebrated achievement and others the time to say, out with the old and in with the new. It's a lot like New Years and New Years resolutions. It symbolizes both the end of a cycle and the birth of a new one, mirroring our lives and the things we see around us. Most things are not infinite, and often times we bear witness to the births and deaths of events and people in our lives. We may not experience both, but we often times experience and celebrate one in a smashing fashion as if we're attempting to make up for the other which we've missed or are planning to miss. Birth and death have always been the greatest events in most people's lives, and often times the most influential. Several great artists, writers, dancers, historians, scientists, etc. have all been thrust into greatness as a response to a death of someone close to them in life. We celebrate birth in our societies with baby showers, religious ceremonies, and excited phone calls to everyone else in our lives. In very much the same way, we react with death, instead of baby showers we find ourselves at wakes, and the phone calls are no longer excited. It's amazing how events on opposing ends of the spectrum emotionally are marked occasions where the actions that we follow with are fantastically the same. Many people think of them as being similar. As the extremes of time, they're both fanatically different and yet soothingly the same. We expect each and regard them as necessities for life to carry on and society and culture to live through. Even if we disregard our religions and societies, with births and deaths many people often find themselves as least portraying the fallacies of faith. We don't forsake all religious custom when there is a birth / death. In fact, we cling to them, if only for the security in consistency and routine that it brings.
In the same way, we embrace the New Year. Most of us consider it the death of who we were and the negative feelings we had for the year. We consider it the birth of something new, in a somewhat grandiose manner. That our luck will change and everything bad that happened will be good again. In an optimistic manner, we avoid considering that all the good things will be bad. Whether or not the year actually turns out that way is another story, but regardless the stigma of a new year remains the same. The human life cycle will forever be mirrored by the traditional marking of a year.
In a final note, I'm anxious to see what the end of this wonderful year and the beginning of another add to my life.
Love, Polly.
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