the division of time into bite-sized pieces like minutes, hours, days, and years is of course, completely artifical and man-made, but the lifelong conditioning we go through creates strong associations in our minds with points in time such as the one coming up shortly – the end of one year and the beginning of another. ideally, i’d like to free myself from such associations, since they’re truly quite meaningless, aren’t they? the trees and rivers, the sky and the sand, the mountains and the oceans, do they know of the passing of years? the rising and setting of the sun, yes, or the melting of winter into spring, but of what consequence is new year’s eve to the oak tree?
conditioned as i am, however, i do feel a sense of excitement about the coming year, and a little nostalgic about the one coming to a close. as the year in which my first child was born, 2008’s significance is certainly higher than most other years of my life so far. what a strange and wonderful gift a child is! an infant lives completely in the moment, and, in some sense, forces us to do the same. ani is one of those babies that cry a lot, and at least personally, it would be very hard for me to deal with his crying if i wasn’t able to move on along with him, forgetting the last crying spell as soon as it is over! parenthood is also an incredible responsibility, one that i’m still in the process of realizing, i think.
2008 was also significant in that we became permanent residents (coincidentally, starting the same day ani was born), and moved to salem so ST could start working on her math phd. we also bought our first ever new car, a bmw 335i. driving it has been nothing but joy and exhilaration.
amidst all of these happenings, though, have i grown as a human being? have i gained a better appreciation for the world we live in, and broadened my perspectives? every year, i guess, will have its share of notable events and memories, but the true significance of being a year older surely ought to be measured in terms of how we’ve affected the lives of others, and what we’ve learnt about ourselves. or is measurement itself a fallacy?
.:freedom, or as you like it:. 