Past, Present and Future..and Resolutions!

C.S. Lewis, the great British writer, once wrote, "You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream." For those of us who are octogenarians his words are a breath of fresh air. It is so easy for me to stop caring about how I dress, what I say or what I do, after all I am on a slippery slope! But then Professor Lewis reminds us to get rid of the negative thinking and set new goals and dream new dreams. Thanks "Jack".

For centuries the new year has been a time to formulate new resolutions. Without being pedantic I wonder sometimes what makes the year 'new'? Newton thought time was part of the nature of the universe. But then old Albert Einstein came along and had the nerve to point out that past, present and future all exist at the same time..that they are in fact an illusion! So is it really a 'new' year or just the same old one? Perhaps Gottfried Leibniz was right when he said that time was an intellectual structure?

What we do know is that time, as we try to measure it, was invented because of the need to do things at a particular moment. The ancients wanted to know when to plant their corn. Thousands of years ago astronomers watched the lunar cycle and gave us a calendar. The Winter Solstice was the natural turning point because the days start getting longer and the planting season was approaching. The Sumerians (Iraq today) invented sun dials and shadow clocks to be even more precise. But different cultures assigned different starting points to the new year. The Romans dated their time from the founding of the city of Rome. Christians dated theirs from Easter and we got the Gregorian Calendar (a refinement of the Julian Calendar!). It is now recognized by the United Nations as a world wide measurement. Living in Toronto we are accustomed to the Chinese New Year or the Islamic lunar calendar.

But no matter how we measure Einsteins "illusionary" past, present and future, the new year has provided multiple traditions and interesting cultures. Many included the idea of getting rid of the old and ushering in the new. The Americans, and probably we Canadians also, want to spend New Years Eve with loved ones. Kissing the one you love at midnight will make your relationship flourish in the new year...or so they say!

And so getting rid of bad habits and starting anew is one tradition that remains dear to us all. "What was your New Years Resolution?" we often ask friends on New Years Day.

I secretly make the same one every year. Old habits are hard to break but they say, practice makes perfect! I resolve not to sweat the minutia.  Making a 'big deal' of the small things in a relationship easily destroys intimacy, ruins sex, and kills dreams. So once again I resolve to ignore the small stuff and take Einstein's best advice to live in the here and now.

And that's Dick's View of the World this Week.