This is the day of the year in which tradition suggests we look back and look forward, that we make our resolutions to live better lives, and wish all those we love a healthy, prosperous New Year.
Here is my 2012 version.
2011 was the year of the Arab spring, and of economic polarization and political paralysis in both America and Europe. It was a year for freedom and for trenchant stubbornness.
It was the year that has left us facing another year with the potential for greater global economic devastation than the world has faced for at least 80 years. That, in turn, increases the chances for violence and abuse, both domestic and international. We face the potential for the emergence of an even more virulent H1N1 virus epidemic, for civil wars, for food, water, and energy shortages. We face the possibility of bank collapse and another credit crunch we have no idea how to moderate.
It looks like a scary year to me.
But life is scary. Life is filled with challenges, some beyond our abilities to cope with, some that bring out some of the best human ingenuity and human generosity has ever produced.
So on this day I am returning to my mantra:
Faith, Hope, and Love, these three:
The greatest of these is Love.
But the most courageous of these is Hope.
Sounds about right.
Comment by sanstorm — January 1, 2012 @ 3:39 pm |