Happy New Year!

 

And what exactly does that mean? The measurement of time is one of the most interesting things humans have invented. I think it is one of the few things left we, as a species, can point to and say, “This sets us apart from the other animals.” As far as I know, humans are the only species who measure time, much less plan things by that measurement. Several non-human species have demonstrated they have an oral language, some apes in the wild have done things which suggest they have a written language, there’s been examples of animals with a sense of humor, etc….but none have shown any concern for time.

 

Somebody might argue this, pointing to various examples of animal migration. However, that’s a meteorological instinct, not any actual measurement of time. Some animals in urban environments might seem to measure time–showing up at a particular place only on certain days of the week–but I think that’s more of establishing a behavior pattern, not actually any conscious recognition of the passage of time.

 

But we humans make a big deal of it. Holidays, birthdays, workdays, days off from work, vacation time, dates, weekend parties…the list goes on of things we plan in time. Look at the recent hullabaloo about the most recent doomsday claims surrounding the “end” of the Mayan calendar. The calendar didn’t really come to an end, not any more than the one we use which completed yesterday. Most of the planet celebrates the end of our calendar every time it happens, welcoming the start of a new one. The Mayan calendar didn’t really end, it just came to the start of a new year as the Mayans measured it.

 

Is this a bad thing? I don’t think so. Some like to bemoan our obsession with time, suggesting we should take things easier and just let things happen as they will. This is, in my opinion, an extreme point of view. The other end of this extreme is planning every single aspect of one’s life, setting a time for every action taken. There are those who live this way, but I think most people are somewhere in the middle. My daughter’s wedding this past summer would have suffered had it not been carefully planned and then executed according to that plan. If she and her husband and simply gone off and gotten hitched with no ceremony, a great deal of joy would have failed to happen.

 

So time is important, as I see it. Yes, one can obsess over it and take it to extremes, but I think most of us are reasonable about it, planning things which should be planned and letting other events come and go as they will. I turn fifty this year. A half century. That’s meaningless in, say, a galactic context, but fifty trips around the sun is personally meaningful. I hope you find joy and meaning in your journeys this year. See you…later!