DECEMBER 31, 2019 – This last day of 2019 prompts reflection about the past 12 months. In cosmic terms, this occasion is fairly hum-drum. Strike “fairly.” From a human perspective, it’s arbitrary. The demarcation between “old year” and “new year” could be established at any time in the earth’s revolution around its star.
It’s a good thing, this reference point for reflection. In a chaotic world, a few minutes of reflection can help keep a person tethered—at least to a frame of reference.
But this time around we’re dealing with more than a single orbit around the sun. We’re concluding a whole decade—the end of the second decade of the century, the millennium. If that still isn’t cosmic, on a human scale it stirs deeper reflection than is warranted by a single year.
For many of us, politics in the Age of Abnormal is most prominent among the images in the mirror. However, while I was skiing alone yesterday evening, climbing uphill through unbroken snow and contemplating this post, I didn’t think “All the Crazy Stuff.” I thought about the decade that saw the loss of my parents and uncle—three people I was sure would live forever and who within the frame of reference of my own life had lived forever. I also thought about the decade now closing as the one in which our two sons became mature adults; flew far afield of the nest that had nurtured them.
My quick descent reminded me how fast flies too—come May, a full decade since my father died; over four years since my wife and I became grandparents. Life is short even when it’s long. Let historians, sociologists, anthropologists, psychologists record, analyze, narrate “All the Crazy Stuff.” Let the rest of us relish and remember the really important stuff in our lives, for it all flashes by as fast as a person on skis can reach the bottom of a hill.
As I full measure of my workout in the snow, I reflected on how the past decade took me from mid-fifties to mid-sixties; from “I can do [one thing or another] forever” to “I’m not sure I want to do [one thing or another] forever.” How long before I’ll be thinking, “I can’t do [one thing or another] forever,” and ultimately, “I can’t do [one thing or another] anymore”? Life is uphill especially when it’s downhill.
The upshot of this bit of reflection was material for my New Year’s Resolutions. By reviewing the past decade, I found questions for the road ahead. What inspiration can I draw from the past 10 years for greater motivation during the next 10? How can I counter-act the psychological acceleration of time associated with aging? How can I stay relevant to myself? How can I inspire others?
Later today I’ll grab my skis again and go to “Little Switzerland” for the last ski outing of the decade. While ascending and descending hills; while skating along the flats, I’ll refine those resolutions. Stay tuned.
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© 2019 Eric Nilsson
