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Oceanfront Home by ArmchairBuilder.com

‘Welcome home, John.’ – Cortana (Halo 4)

There are places in this world that we cherish. And people who make those places a part of who we are. These two always go together, do they not?

Whether we admit it or not, a home is more than we realise. It’s greater than a place, more intricate than our memories allow us to know. Far too often, when we are content and surrounded by goodwill, we underestimate the complexity of feeling that shapes our understanding of this concept.

Home. There is more to this word, I think, than first meets the eye. There are depths of feeling we unconsciously associate with home – it’s a feeling as much as a concretely defined physical space. It extends beyond walls and doors, and beds, and tables.

It’s about what you carry with you, wherever you are. It’s about the people you never leave behind, no matter how far you wander. 

With Quiet Dignity

'Strange how there's always a little more innocence left to lose.' - The Outsider (Dishonored)

Love, Dignity, Justice
by ANDR3W A

From the title and quotation chosen for this particular stream of consciousness, you might hazard the guess that something has been troubling me lately. And rightly so, my dear, vociferous readers.

I may have stated this too many times already, but I feel that our species is quite fallible. We are all inclined towards chaos – to some extent at least. The irony being, of course, that we so strongly crave to order the world around us and shape it to our needs, desires, preferences…

None of us are perfect, which is both logical and unsurprising – if it were otherwise, I for one would be rather shocked that we had discovered true Artificial Intelligence without anyone noticing. The point I would make here is that none of us are exempt from failure in any way. None of us are true beacons of virtue and morality – paragons unblemished by a cruel world. However appealing the notion of such people may be, I would argue that they do not exist.

Perhaps I am awfully pessimistic and time will prove me wrong. I would be very glad, if that happened one day. Truly, I would like to believe that we are all capable of being much more than we are – you may have noticed how often I express this particular idealistic notion of mine. As is often the case, however, reality would beg to differ. The world touches us all eventually – no one remains innocent for long. And the farther we go from our most cherished dreams and ideals, the more we realise how deep this loss of innocence may become.

Yet, you will not hear me say, my dear, vociferous readers, that there is no hope – that there is no way to retain some part of your true self, to build it, to make it stronger. Fighting for that is both the means and the end, I think, and the calls to arms are too numerous to ignore.

Someone said to me once, ‘What is true is never loud.’ So let us fight on, quietly – for innocence lost. Let us overcome and rise above all of it.

And let us live on with quiet dignity.

Unheeded

'From something delicate to something brutal, a pattern repeated through all of history.' – Steven Erikson

Broken Flowers by h.koppdelaney.

Our history is one of mistakes repeated...

We walk within memories of warmth and ice, light and darkness, joy and despair – our triumphs are ever brief and followed by the inevitable fall. And we continue to move in circles, ever confused in a relentless pursuit of something greater than the cold, uncompromising reality we are faced with each and every day.

We are chasing after ideas and ideals, our seeking and craving fuelled by empty dreams. Dreams that have become devoid of substance by our own lack of understanding – while we chase after greater comprehension... Such irony.

Where will this endless cycle lead us? Will we even glimpse a final, ultimate goal? Circle after circle after circle...closed. Will we ever learn, I wonder – or are we doomed to repeat our mistakes, destroy what we create and forgo our noblest cravings?

Will we ever not end up right where we began? We seem to have the amazing ability to never heed the lessons of history.

All of this I say, my dear, vociferous readers, for a reason both simple and ridiculously convoluted: we all know, on some level, that there is still... something in our world that is untainted and incorruptible. After all, we have all felt the first touch of love, or the breath of unexpected hope – or even something as simple as a surge of sympathy for a fellow human being. And we have all, I have no doubt, at the very least glimpsed the Beauty that has become so very elusive of late. For the circles are ever closing...

And Beauty is ever in peril, my friends. Whenever it would try to rise above the shackles of this base realm of ours, chaos and destruction would rear their ugly heads and trample its frail endeavour. Again and again we have seen this – the rise and fall of something precious, splendid, magnificent.

Beauty is ever in peril. And it needs Guardians.  

One Year Later...

'We began as wanderers, and we are wanderers still.' - Dr Carl Sagan 

It has been quite the journey, my dear, vociferous readers.

Some of you will know that, of course. Some of you will have noticed my winding path to a place I am yet to see with any clarity. Some of you are yet to share in my vision – if at all.

For those of you who have been with me all along... beyond the confines of this rather limiting form of expression. You know me far better than most. And far too well for simple words. But bear with me.

I have learned a lot, my friends. This blog began as a training regimen for my then dormant writing skills. And then it became something far greater – a challenge, a road less travelled, a way of knowing this crazy little world. It became a search for something more, a quest for dreams I can never know.

I have learned so much along the way. Too much to share through means as crude as words. But I know that I know far, far too little...

Nevertheless, I did discover certain bits and pieces of a larger truth I can call my own. And I got to know uncertainty in an entirely new fashion. I am now utterly convinced that to have blind faith in something is deeply wrong – to never change assumptions, beliefs, ideas, perceptions is nothing but a hindrance to becoming a greater human being. There are no final conclusions, I have come to think.

I know how deep bonds are forged. I know how much a true friend is worth. I know love is not the only answer, but it's a bloody good one. I know the people you care for are the ultimate frontier, the final scale of justice, balance and morality.

And I know far too much to say I know enough. But I know that there are lessons for all of us each and every day...

What did I learn recently, one might ask? Exempli gratia, I embraced whole-heartedly a principle I seemed to have forgotten: to judge another is a choice, not a necessity. Judge at your own peril...

Perhaps more importantly, I finally understood something I have always been reluctant to admit – that there is no tragedy to the deep turnings of this world. The strength to find meaning resides within us: we can make the choice. We are the ones who define and shape our own existence. There is no intrinsic tragedy – even if at times the Universe seems to be truly unforgiving.

Of course, this entire endeavour has amounted to a rather odd collection of random thoughts, musings and opinions. And it was inevitable that I would learn to trust my own judgement, wherever it may take me at times. Thus, I know something now that I failed to see a year ago... Even if the entire world would beg to differ, that does not mean you are the one who's wrong.

I will continue to try to see what lies beyond the immediately visible. There are far greater things that we may know that are dreamt of in our petty philosophy. We are capable of so much more...

But the choices we make are the dreams we can know. The choices not made are the stories untold. And the stories we make are the truths we have known.

Is the circle now complete, my dear, vociferous readers?

Through the Night

'Alfred: Why do we fall, sir? So that we can learn to pick ourselves up.' – Batman Begins

Being able to rise again when no one would expect us to do so – that's why I still have some hope left for our species.

Nevertheless, we do tend to focus too much on our failures, which is, rather ironically, what I am doing at this moment (even if they are not my failures, per se). The difference stems from the fact that I am trying to make a point. So bear with me, my dear, vociferous readers.

It's quite impossible not to notice how, far too often, we fixate on our shortcomings to the exclusion of all else. And I do not mean the bit of (almost) harmless perfectionism or permanent dissatisfaction with personal accomplishments we may observe here and there in this peculiar world of ours – I was, in actuality, referring to our terribly annoying habit to presume that we cannot.

We think we can't be better. We can. We say we can't change anything in this world. We can. We give up, we despair, we conform. We remain silent and on our knees. Yet, we choose to do all that. And we, as a global society, can make a better choice.

This, as ever, begins with a single person. Each and every one of us is a reflection, to some extent, of the communities from which they emerged – of the idiosyncrasies of our day and age, if you will. But also of the most common societal character traits and cultural practices that are at the heart of who we are as people.

Do we choose to accept and go on unperturbed, or do we dig deeper and try to rise from within our deep indignation at the reality we can now see? You and I both know, I hope, that each and every day is a challenge that is only going to become greater with time. And this is it. This is all we have, when all is said and done. It's you and the people you care for in the context of a Universe where the existence (or lack thereof) of our entire species, our planet and our solar system is irrelevant.

We can either stay down, unwilling to see beyond what we know – or we can go above and beyond ourselves to reach further that we ever expected and find strength we never knew we had. We can face this world with the supreme confidence that, in each and every thing we do, we will do everything within our abilities: and then rise above our limitations to become more than we can.

We are stronger than we know, I think. And whenever we may fall, let us lend each other a helping hand – along with a word of hope. I choose to believe we can make it through the night.

Let our spirits be tempered in the fires of Life.

Ceaseless Striving

'The brightest light is invisible. It shines through your deeds, and warms the universe.' – Chronicles of Courage and Conviction, by Captain Dylan Hunt Ret. (Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda)

This world is one of messages – where at every corner a new cause awaits, and in each of us there is a wealth of knowledge we never knew we possessed. We are surrounded by the new and unknown with ever greater frequency. And we have become numb, uncaring...

If it were easy to allocate blame, I would have done that already. My problem stems from the fact that we all seem to be wrong – as a society, as a species even. The problem, I think, comes from the way we have chosen to position ourselves in relation to... well, everything. There is no other way than to shut our eyes and our hearts to the pain of others – in this place we have chosen, morality is not welcome.

The crisis of ethics and morals, at least, may be easily speculated upon. Is our inability to distinguish between what we feel as right and that set forth by a fundamentally flawed system a sign of something more significant? Does it, perhaps, pertain to the models of 'correct behaviour' established by the artificial construct we inhabit? We are encouraged towards individualisation and selfishness, rather than any higher motive – we are not supposed to be better than we are, apparently. We are not supposed to overcome our limitations and rise above our selves. Not in a way that would help anyone else, that is: becoming 'better' at the expense of others is a core aspect of our definition of 'success', after all.

I must apologise, my dear, vociferous readers, for this hopelessly disorganised rant. This was not meant as a lecture on morality, but rather as a question – a question that has been bothering me for far too long... Why keep doing this, if we can choose to be different? Surely, we can be better than we are, can't we?

Perhaps one day these questions will receive an answer. If we intend to rise to the challenges that lie ahead, we must be better than we are... We must better than we can. 

Victory

Self-Sacrifice by josephacheng.

       'Una salus victis nullam sperare salutem.' – Virgil

       The price of victory... is always more than you are willing to sacrifice. Never less. Never less than the sum of all your sweat and tears.
       I have been thinking, my dear, vociferous readers, about the manifold nature of this – shall we say perplexing, for lack of a better word – aspect of our small world. The battles we fight each and every day – whether or not we recognise them for what they are – have served to teach, challenge, inspire... and despair.

       We will not always find victory. Not every challenge is one we can meet and overcome. Yet, try we must. Try to do the best we are capable of, hoping from that place beyond reason and logic that it might just be enough. That we might rise to the challenge and continue to grow, and learn, and evolve.

       Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst. Place your faith in people, but expect them not to take the high road. It might not be easy – but perhaps it was never meant to be.

       Every victory comes at a price... And every defeat has something to teach us.

Chasing Infinity

      

       'We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.' – Oscar Wilde

       The End.

       So begins every great adventure, I have come to believe. It is the endings that spur us on to a new and bright beginning – however paradoxical that might sound. The need for closure, for the completion of a journey is outweighed by our craving for a new, more exciting, more fulfilling experience. We chase after the unknown, so that we may know it; we seek new horizons, so that we may one day leave them behind. Repeat ad infinitum.

       We are dreamers, one and all. This intrinsic need to know what lies just beyond our sight, to take the path less travelled... It keeps us moving. Chasing each new dream takes us closer to who we are; it makes it easier to know others and to know ourselves. It keeps us moving.

       Yet, for all our potential, we tend to forget about the immeasurable power of a dream. We choose to see less that we can; we choose to know less that we do; we choose to want less than we have. However, does the fault reside in our complex, conflicting nature, or is it simply an inevitable consequence of the flawed construct in which we have elected to exist? If only I were able to give you an answer to that, my dear, vociferous readers...

       I can only hope that you shall find the strength to chase after your dreams. Ad infinitum.

Rain

       'Adama: What do you hear, Starbuck?
       Thrace: Nothing but the rain.
       Adama: Then grab your gun and bring in the cat.'
          - Battlestar Galactica

       How do we let go?
       How do we say goodbye?
       Is there really a way to leave behind the person we were, so that we may become the person we want to be? Is there really a way to part with someone we love and not feel loss? Can we be more with less – less of that, without which we are not our true selves; the indispensible? Sine qua non.
       I ask you this, my dear, vociferous readers, not to sadden, but to strengthen – not to hurt, but to heal. Look into your souls and tell me that you have not done something you regret, that in all your lives until this moment, there has never been a decision you now see was wrong. A choice you now wish you could make again.
       We are, all of us, fallible. We are human. We make mistakes... And this is our curse, but also our blessing. It is how we grow, learn, evolve – we stand taller after every tragedy, we are better after every mistake.
       For we are, after all, the decisions we face, the choices we make... the paths we take.
       'So say we all.'

Choosing Hope

Source: Mass Effect 3.
This image is the property of EA/Bioware.

       'Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.' – Shel Silverstein

       The last sounds of a dying dream, I think, are to be found in our conviction that there will come a day when we will make that dream our reality. And perhaps we will. Perhaps we won't. But today is not that day...

       I would not judge a person by their convictions, beliefs, dreams, ideas. I would not judge who they are and who they crave to be. Unless... Unless, by their chosen way of life, they are inherently harmful to themselves, to those around them – or even to every other person on this small world. Hence, the fundamental contradiction in my worldview: if I am not to judge, save by those criteria, I would still be required to find billions of people guilty (in my specific definition of the term), including myself.

       It would seem a rather bright notion to not pass judgement, then, wouldn't it? After all, that is a choice, rather than a necessity. And it tends to lead us away, to shift our focus from what is truly important – perpetuating a stagnant perspective does not really present us with a grand myriad of possibilities and directions, and paths, and ideas. On the contrary, we become the victims of a cyclical paradigm that we choose to reinforce.
       Let us move past the inherent inadequacies of a self-centred point of view...
       We now perceive the world in all its intrinsic depth and beauty – we see the full breadth of the crowning achievement, of the probabilistic miracle that is Life. And we see, finally, how we, one species on a small planet orbiting a mundane star in the context of a vastness beyond comprehension, have managed to make such a bloody mess of the rare chance we have been given. We are now on the verge: and we plan to take with us as much as we can. Over the edge and into a Chaos of our own making.

       Of course, I cannot know if and when we shall take the figurative leap. And I doubt there is anyone who can predict this with any degree of certainty. There is too much darkness in this world for any of us to hope to see clearly. There are too many unknowns, too many complex contructs preventing us from understanding. There is too much to do – and too little time. 

       But there is also hope. The potential for rapid, fundamental and positive change is a human trait we should learn to exploit. It should not be reserved only for radical situations – rather, we must learn to want to become better, each and every one of us, each and every day. We must embrace this part of ourselves, I believe, if we are to have any hope of flying when we step forwards from this new edge. Instead of plummeting to a new and singularly unpleasant depth for our species.

       Without hope, we do have nothing left. We would be no more than the parts that form us – and no greater than the parts of the artificial, mechanical construct that we form. But there is more to us than we choose to see. There is hope in the darkest of places: our souls are not an exception. As long as there are people who want to know that there is more to us than meets the eye, our spark need not die out.

       In the end, the choice is ours... We must choose hope.

Where art thou, Clarity?

       'All the world's a stage...' – William Shakespeare

       In the style of all great stories, perhaps we should start with a naïve young person, who believes with great passion – fervour even – that they would be the one to change the world. It should be noted, as this is only the very beginning, that they have not necessarily defined as of yet to what they would strive to alter aforementioned world. Their definition of what the nature of the difference they shall make is still somewhat inconsequential – rather, it is important that greatness, fame, fortune, or other some quantifiable measure of success are attained.

       You have already guessed the next part, I imagine. All good stories have a villain. But what does our young, headstrong and hopeful person face? What challenges shall I, as a fickle and cruel deity of their world, inflict upon said protagonist of this particular story?

       If the objective of verisimilitude were to be accomplished, we might employ no single evil entity. Rather, it would be the inescapable and numerous small challenges of day-to-day life as we know it. Is this not the greatest enemy all of us know – plain old ordinary life? On the face of it, that would seem to be the case, when we consider the permeating, mediocrity-encouraging, oppressive nature of the global madhouse we so proudly call ‘society’.
       Let us choose, then, the greatest of villains, the arch-enemy of all that we know as good in life. That villain would be change, I contend. For change is to be feared and fear cripples us, paralyses us. Change is in every single thing, change is in our nature. And our hero will falter and fail...

       But let us transcend that, shall we? We are, after all, telling a story... And all stories worth telling need a good, old-fashioned villain. Except there are no more of those, it would seem. The lines between good and evil, right and wrong, black and white have sort of become muddled up, confused, fuzzy... indistinguishable. There is no clarity left in this world. 

       And our hero falters and fails. He never suspected! She never knew how complex, frightening, perplexing this world actually is. He never knew how small and insignificant he was. Who was she to think she could make a difference, to change things, to make it all better?
       Yet, this is not the way our story ends, I should hope. There are greater challenges than our own uncertainties, greater obstacles than our vanity. And greater threats than our broken dreams. Our strength is greater than we know... And this young person will one day rise again to be a hero. Because we need heroes – we need to be the hero, at least in our own eyes or the eyes of our loved ones.
       And as long as we do, there is hope.

This Little Dream

       ‘Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?’ – Juvenal

       We are at a threshold of unprecedented magnitude. We are facing challenges greater than any that have come before. We are neither prepared, nor willing to act.

       I am adamant in my belief that the irony is readily obvious to each and every one of us. Time and again, I have wondered why we cling to this hollow projection of what we perceive as a readiness to make momentous decisions. We consider, evaluate, plan, postpone…and fail to act. Often, even on our own behalf. We are the only real guardians of who we are and we have left the guarding to others.

       We delegate our duties, we avoid our responsibilities.  Thus we void our right to dispute injustice. Perhaps we all deserve better than our lot – but we must earn it. We are none of us entitled to anything in our world. And there is far more to be achieved than one might think…

       But this is a dream, my dear, vociferous readers. Granted, it is a dream we could perhaps one day see unfold before our eyes. Yet, a dream none the less. And though it holds a great promise, it also gives us a warning – we must wake up, if we are ever to dream this little dream.

       There are no winners and losers in the greatest of games. Only those who see and those who don’t.      

The Tales Untold

       “Humans need fantasy to be human. To be the place where the falling angel meets the rising ape.” – Sir Terry Pratchett

       We live in interesting times, if I may say so. Times when our words are not reflected in our actions and our actions are not a reflection of our beliefs… If that’s not fascinating, I am at a loss as to what is. But I do believe ‘interesting’ should suffice for this particular discourse (lest I actually say what I mean and we all end up terribly depressed and altogether the worse for it). 

       I ought to mention, perhaps, that times are always ha– … pardon, interesting to some extent. And I do believe it is well within our resilient and blindingly stubborn nature to endure such challenges as those periods provide. Our capacity to bear the unbearable and tolerate the intolerable is one of the few reasons I still maintain my rather misplaced faith in our mess of a species. 

       Although such might not seem to be the case, all of the above is closely related to my recent nostalgic thoughts about stories and how they have helped shape us and guide us through such times. And how we, in turn, have given shape and substance to them – how new stories have emerged from old ones viewed with a fresh set of eyes, and how new legends, new myths, new… companions have been born for us. By our own triumphs and failures. 

       I will admit that I will never see stories from an objective, purely rational perspective. I am a story-teller at heart, even if real life would beg to differ. This is because I hold the belief that there is a higher calling to this art, if you will excuse the clichéd turn of phrase. The pursuit of a simple truth is admirable, to say the very least. For that is what a writer does – should he succeed, then he has captured an aspect of the human condition in all its multi-faceted and immeasurable complexity. Although I have no doubt that very few writers actually set out to build their careers with that abstract objective in mind. 

       But that is what they do, in the end. The best of those stories will reach even the hardest of hearts. As ever it has been throughout the ages, that sliver of truth will find its way to an open mind, to a wild imagination, to a lonely soul… to both sage and fool. Stories have been with us for far too long – they are an intrinsic part of us. And while it is true that times have changed since those first fairy tales were born, and while the boundaries between fantasy and reality have become far more clearly defined, the worlds that exist just beyond what we see will always call strongly to those of us who seek a truth. Any truth. 

       For the fantasy of one is a reality to another, and the stories we make are the truths we have known.

Flawed Objectives

       'Try not to become a man of success but rather to become a man of value.' - Albert Einstein

       I feel I must admit that I am troubled. But perhaps that is putting it too gently. I am baffled, exasperated and at the threshold of being gloomy. This is not, surprisingly, the consequence of any personal failing of mine. Save for my repeated inability to comprehend the vicissitudes of fate, I am rather content with my grasp of this world. Theoretically and empirically, I understand that I shall never fully understand it. And that for me is reasonably sufficient – for the extent of what may be known is beyond the capacity of any single human being.

       The source of my particular frustration is to be discovered within my failure to see any meaning or purpose to the self-perpetuating and, if I may say so, rather pointless endeavour of becoming a ‘success’. I have already established in my previous writing that, to me personally, that notion is defined by the attainment of interpersonal experience – our bonds with others are ultimately the most meaningful aspect of life (or at least, the most meaningful aspect that I can observe). Considering that I have reached this conclusion, I have taken it upon myself to examine objectively the current societal structure – our predisposition to climb a ladder of another’s choosing. (Worry not, I won’t really do that. Not only does it entail loads of rather tedious analysis, but it is also far beyond the scope of a blog post.)
       Now that your worries have been laid to rest, I will admit I still fail to see any meaning or purpose to the above-mentioned phenomenon. Nevertheless, I do want to share one particular insight of mine. It is related to what we see every day. And I hope it is close to the truth – at least in some small way. I have realised that, if you think you’re ‘getting ahead’ in life, you shouldn’t look back over your shoulder to see those you’ve passed by on the way.

       You should look ahead, far in the distance, to those you underestimated when the race was just beginning.      

An Inherent Value

Source: V for Vendetta

       'Abstract liberty, like other mere abstractions, is not to be found.' – Edmund Burke

       There is, as ever there has been, too much darkness in this world of ours – too many threats for any one of us to face alone. So we learned, in time… To stand together, to fight side by side for what we have and what we crave.

       It would be safe to assume that recent advances in technology have contributed, at least to a certain extent, to such forms of societal development. Freedom – it has become an inseparable, fundamental value to us, essential to the way we view the world. We have grown to love the ease of communication with people from around the globe; the liberty to access and share the combined knowledge of our species is today at our finger tips. But we have grown accustomed to such comforts. And we have grown complacent.

       We assume that no one shall ever endeavour to deny us our freedom. We presume to believe that there are not those who would take our freedom – lock away both our distant brothers and sisters and the sum of human knowledge. Our knowledge. Do not forget, my dear, vociferous readers, that there will always be darkness in this world of ours. There are, as ever there shall be, people who crave, above all else, power and control over others – they would snatch away your freedom to see, hear and even think for yourself.

       And they will, if we allow them. But I choose to believe that together we shall keep that light of love, liberty, respect and that desire for knowledge we all possess. We shall keep it burning. We will stand together, as one, for what we have and what we crave.

       We shall face the darkness of this world. And prevail.

Onwards...

A Path to Inner Peace by InertiaK

‘Long you live and high you fly.

And smiles you'll give and tears you'll cry,

And all you touch and all you see

Is all your life will ever be.’

              – Pink Floyd

       I know not a person who is unencumbered by a strange lack – by the odd sense that there is something missing in these lives we live. It is, perhaps, an inevitable consequence of the human condition… Maybe we are not meant to be completely satisfied. Maybe happiness is but a dream, an ephemeral vision of another world – both close to our grasp and irrevocably distant at the same time.

       Personally, I have come to see happiness as a state of the soul, rather than just the heart or the mind (as people so often endeavour to believe). There is something deeper about that feeling than we could explain through means of logic or emotion alone. It must reverberate within our souls; we must embrace it – lest it flee beyond our understanding once and for all.

       I know not a person who is truly content with his or her lot. It is within our nature – on a very basic, fundamental level – to strive, to endure, to persevere, to accomplish. This, I believe, has brought us to where we stand today. But it might just be our downfall… I wonder what happens when the process we have defined – the stairs we climb on the path to any kind of success – becomes devoid of meaning.

       I wonder what remains when there is nothing left to crave, no more dreams to follow. It should be rather interesting to discover what happens then, I think. Or perhaps not… It does sound like a lonely road, that one. And there is too much lost along the way.  

       It is much better to make your own way, I would say. And stride onwards with those who love you at your side.

And Another One...

       'Know how to live the time that is given you.' – Dario Fo

       It has been stated, perhaps far too often, that a new year will bring us new fortune. Whether it will be good or bad remains to be seen. What we may be certain of, as ever, is that another year has passed by…

       Time, with its flight through our clinging fingers, is an ever-present aspect of life – but it is also a fine companion. It reminds us of what is truly important, if only because it shall never let us forget our own mortality. Time, that subjective, deeply-ingrained habit that our species seems to have so much trouble shaking off, is our dearest friend in one very fundamental respect – it makes us cherish what little we have, it nags at our lonely souls to make us better.

       My dear, vociferous readers, I hope each and every one of you saw this New Year arrive while standing close to those you love the most. I hope you imprinted those joyous moments in your minds. They are our greatest treasures, I believe.

       For we are none of us infallible. And all we really have is the love of those who will stand by us, as we walk the winding paths of life.

       Happy New Year!