Endings And Beginnings - All Over the Place

January 2, 2024 Edition

Editor: Salma Neghive

Published by JPlease Press

San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

YIDDISH WORD OF THE DAY

Chutzpah — chutzpah, noun chutz·pah supreme self-confidence; nerve; gall. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer says that President Donald Trump calling the Democratic Party the “anti-Israel, anti-Jewish party” has “redefined chutzpah.” - CNN

ENDINGS AND BEGINNINGS AND BEGINNINGS AND ENDINGS…

There are a few subjects that I ponder often, (the moment of) “New Year’s Eve” always connects at least two of them.

One is about the notion of time, what the fuck is it, its impact on how we move through life, its paradoxical alchemy of illusion and “reality,” how mere moments can feel unbearably long and yet years can go flashing by in the seemingly blink of an eye. Etcetera.

The other is the how I see the relationship between endings and beginnings and beginnings and endings and doors closing and opening. The ways in which we transition between/among them all. Yes, just like we do with Life, and Death.

This yearly moment on the calendar, this turning from past to present and future, provokes humans to create resolutions, make commitments, cause shifts, make promises, embark on the new and leave the old. Could be new ones every year, or repeats, it really doesn’t matter. This singular moment in time creates what seems to be a somewhat universal opportunity for self-reflection, one that transcends cultures, that allows people to (be able to) experience feelings of renewal, hope, redemption, shifts, transformation, courage.

Regardless of the circumstances on the outside. At least momentarily.

Truth is, we don’t need January 1’s to make those same resolutions/commitments/promises, or to go inside and take stock. Every day is “the day.” As I get older, time takes on new meaning, as well as speed. Every moment is a “Sliding Door” moment, providing each of us the chance to choose how we want to be, what we want to manifest. Life is, as I have come to see, simply a series of experiences, and I always want to be choosing them more and more wisely…each one begetting all the ones that follow.

It’s not life or death, it’s life and death, a continuum for us that holds our personal journey. January 1 has no greater power over our own choices, our ability to deepen our self-knowledge and consciousness as a human, than any other day on the calendar. Courage can rise-up any/every day. Joy and ecstasy and horror and sadness exist every day, not just on calendar benchmarks or Hallmark holidays. Be here now, my friends, this moment is truly all we got for sure.