Happy New Year! Another brand new year, the year of 2013, will begin next Tuesday. That Tuesday will not be just an ordinary Tuesday; it will be a very special day, New Year's day. Since the Julian Calendar, in which the average length of a year was 365 days, was introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 B.C., the whole world has been keeping the first day of January as New Year's Day. After the longest nights of the year, the Christmas week in Northern Hemisphere, the bright day times are starting to get longer and longer. So in the beginning people made their own resolutions on New Year's Day in an effort to become what they want to be. Definitely it will be good for everyone and anyone who have made their special new year's resolutions, and may they be kept during the new year.
The first month of the year is called January. It originated from Latin word Januarius, which was based on the name of the god Janus, who had two faces-one looking forward and the other looking backward. Truly the beginning of the new year should be the time of looking backward and at the same time looking forward in each one's life journey. Taking a time of looking backward at what was missed in the past year and looking forward at what is needed in the new year, it is a good starting point of the new year's journey. Although we, people, have only one face to look forward when we are walking on the way, we are able, like the god of Janus, to look backward and look forward from time to time in order to check up on things missed and add things needed. That is an amazing gift of God to the people who have been created in God's own image.
Through watching on the TV screen what has been going on in the far corners of the world and through personal experiences, it has become clear that one-sidedness, unilateral decision making, partiality, fundamentalism and extremism are nothing but harmful to everyone, and eventually they will bring damage and disaster to the communal life. On the other hand, depending on popularity, liberalism, following mass media and new age movements, they may also ruin not only personal life but communal as well. Truly we are living in a very difficult time period trying to keep our dignity and personality in harmony and balance. New ideas, new consumer goods and new fashions which challenge the present life styles and work against the traditional ways of livings are bombarding us each and every year. So Jesus advised that we should be wise as serpents and innocent as doves (Matthew 10;16) in order to always keep balance.
Keeping balance, balance between new and old things, balance between the past and the present, and balance between physical and spiritual wellbeing; thus to keep balance in daily life has to be the first priority in the New Year's resolution. Of course it is not easy to keep balance all times, but it is always possible to check up and take a self-examination and pay attention to our daily life. As drivers check the traffic lights and road signs they come to while enjoying a drive, on our life journey, making a habit to check up whether or not we are keeping balance in our lives will be the most valuable New Year's resolution for everyone. Good habits always bring out good life. As keeping up the balance of the bank accounts, let us keep balance of our lives. I wish you and your family have a very happy New Year! "The eyes of the Lord your God are always on it (you), from the beginning of the year to the end of the year" (Deuteronomy 11:12).
