Knicq

The thing about ‘New Years’
knicq posted in Knicqisms on January 1st, 2009

The Ushering in of a New Year:

In a few hours from now, the Sun will begin to rise. From all the fanfare that has been the prelude to this particular celestial event over the past couple of days, I am convinced that the Sun will be square when it rises, and might just be pentagonal, hexagonal, or heptagonal. Whatever shape it takes, it is not going to be the round boring thing it has been for the past 365 days, and for millions of 365-day units before that. And the light will be different - in speed, in brightness, and in properties. Quite likely, it is going to change its path as well, and might just start following a completely new modus operandi. Perhaps, it will split into two identical, or not identical, parts and each part will move in opposite direction until the two parts go a half circle to meet on the other side of the earth and repel each other back to their original positions. The earth will take a rest from its revolving around the sun, the length of the day will be halved and a chain of events will follow which will change the way life has existed on earth quite fundamentally.

Actually, I had expected something drastic to happen at midnight. I am not entirely sure exactly what it was I had expected. I had worried about the possibility that earth might decide to orbit at twice the speed it has followed over the past few millenia, or the risk that human kind and all other species might begin to undergo a fundamental change in their respiratory behavior, thereby making the need for pure oxygen redundant, and bringing about an increased dependence on polluted fumes for healthy living.

I still expect that when we wake up tomorrow morning, we will all be peace loving human beings, who will not esort to genocides and massacres whenever they have the power to inflict pain and misery on fellow human beings; that we will have abundant food for every inhabitant of the earth, human or not, in a ‘developed’ country or not, and ‘white’ or not. I am convinced that there will be no sicknesses, physical or spiritual, which cannot be cured through a prayer, an apple a day and a glass of milk, all of which will be in abundant supply all the time for everybody. I know that people will wake up feeling the need to reach out to their human brethren in times of need, and will find nothing but love for Allah’s creation in their hearts. No houses will be destroyed by man-made machines carrying firepower, no families will be burried under the rubble of their own house, no widows and orphans will rise from the debris of happy families, and no-one will live in fear of a fellow human. Most importantly, I am sure that people will wake up tomorrow morning with the clear realization and deep understanding of the fact that Allah Almighty is the creator of the Universe and to Him we shall all return and hence for Him shall all our actions be. Tomorrow, the 1st of January, 2009, will be  day of happiness, contentment, joy, love, happiness and well-being. Or at least, tomorrow shall be a day when everything will go back to the way it was exactly a year ago, no people will have died at the hands of their fellow humans, or of hunger or disease and we will get another go at not making the mistakes we made this year, right?

At least that is what it seems like from the joy with which people have been going about celebrating what is otherwise nothing but a mere change of date. The scenes of celebration, the anticipation of this change in date on this particular day must mark something more meaningful and deeper than just a change in a number. Perhaps, it marks the end of a year of achievements, or otherwise of a year of misery giving way to a year of prosperity and happiness; because if you ask me, if it is none of the above, what really is all the hoopla about?

What shall be different when I wake up? What am I supposed to be celebrating?

The New Year Resolution:

This is another peculiar thing one hears about as the 365th day comes to an end. People draw up and make new year resolutions to be better people, to be healthier people, to be less wrong and more right, to drop their bad habits and cultivate new good ones starting ‘tomorrow’. I am sorry, but if our resolve reserves are refilled on this particular date, I have been deprived of this disciplined refilling for all of my life. Why do people wait for it to be a certain date before they make their resolutions to be better and less bad people? What has one got to do with another? Who says you cannot make a resolution at 12.23 pm on May 17? Who says your exercise regime cannot begin on August 23 at 6:00 am? Who says I get less than 12 months if I make a resolution at 5:39 pm on April 03? If I must measure myself for a year on how well I do on a resolution, why can’t I do it from April 03 to April 02? Why must I wait another nine months to put that resoltuion into motion?

Why can’t people take stock of who they are, who they want to be, what they can be every day every minute?

Who says January 01 is all it is made out to be?