Another New Year! Oh......good.

[Merrill Young]

You'd think I would like New Years!

A chance to party, often in a very elegant way.

A final kick at the can for the pessimists, a whole new chance to get it right for the 'glass half full 'crowd.

But it makes me uncomfortable.

Probable summed up best by W.H. Auden's poem, Well, so That is That.

Well, so that is that Wystan Hugh Auden (1907-1973)

Well, so that is that. Now we must dismantle the tree, Putting the decorations back into their cardboard boxes -
Some have got broken - and carrying them up to the attic.
The holly and the mistletoe must be taken down and burnt,
And the children got ready for school. There are enough
Leftovers to do, warmed up, for the rest of the week -
Not that we have much appetite, having drunk such a lot,
Stayed up so late, attempted - quite unsucceßfully -
To love all of our relatives, and in general
Großly overestimated our powers. Once again
As in previous years we have seen the actual Vision and failed
To do more than entertain it as an agreeable
Poßibility, once again we have sent Him away,
Begging though to remain His disobedient servant,
The promising child who cannot keep His word for long.

Cheerful, isn't it?

A bit more comforting is The Gate of the Year, by Minnie Louise Harkins.

I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year 'Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.'

And he replied, 'Go into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way!'

So I went forth and finding the Hand of God Trod gladly into the night
He led me towards the hills
And the breaking of day in the lone east.

So heart be still! What need our human life to know
If God hath comprehension?

In all the dizzy strife of things Both high and low,
God hideth his intention."

This was included in King George V1 Christmas broadcast of 1939. Can't think of a time that folks needed more reassuring, can you?

So that's my problem. Am I sorry to see the excess and celebration cease, or am I poised on the brink of new adventures?

Well, I guess we'll all find out. As long as it has books to read, it won't be all bad!

p.s. sorry about the hilighted words in the Harkins poem- damned if I know how to correct it!