Last day of January

The sun is just going down on the last day of January. For some of you it is already February and for many of you the last day of January has just begun. What does that mean: the last day of January? Somehow this seems significant. I guess January always feels and sounds new. Say it: 'January'. It produces a feeling akin to that aroused when saying: 'the very beginning', 'fresh', or 'rejuvenation'. It's a month like any other, yet we have been so programmed to think of it as a new start. But, really, I think it is a good programming. I know that I often live between starts and finishes, with 'the end in sight' sometimes the only motivator to keep me going. And to have a yearly, perpetual end-in-sight is really a rather refreshing constant.

But here we are at the end of the beginning, on the verge of the long middle. I made no resolutions this year, so I plan to keep no resolutions (seems the easiest path to success, I suppose). But I do plan to learn and experience this year. Perhaps this year I will try to hear more. One of the most interesting questions I have encountered in my course of study is that of the senses. Is it safe to assume that for all generations vision has been the primary mode of experience? Our world certainly takes advantage of sight as the primary sense, but what of a world in which there were no corrective lenses and only dim, smoky light past sundown or on gloomy days? We did an exercise one day in crew in which we all closed our eyes and continued to row. In that way we were forced to feel the boat be sat and hear the rhythm of the paddles breaking the water. No vision and we still rowed in time. So I think I will try to hear and feel and smell my way through life this year. Of course I'll see the world--it's too beautiful to miss--but perhaps I will close my eyes more often and stimulate a less sensitive part of my brain.

When I began this entry, I intended to tell of my mother's coming trip to Cambridge and our bounce down to Spain, of my upcoming trip to Lyon, and of thesis progress... but you get thoughts on the start of the middle of the year instead. I hope it is a glowing year for everyone. And if not, don't forget that we get another shot at the start in just eleven months.