Chappy Secular New Year!

I am occassionally presented with the following question: if I could travel back in time, what past event, mistake, decision, etc. in my life would I change? As tempting as it may be to change a number of mishaps and indiscretions, I always conclude not to change anything. In so doing, I of course avoid the horrors of a science fiction time paradox. I also am recognizing the fact that if I changed anything about my past, I'd no longer be who I am today.

This does not, however, mean that I wouldn't change anything about myself - I am continually striving to make myself better as I move forward in life. I think many people want to make changes, be it to exercise more, be more diligent in a hobby or work pursuit, spend more time with loved ones, be more understanding, or simply shave more often. Often, getting started is the hardest part of such changes, and thus we discover the beautiful thing about an arbitrarily chosen date on the calendar to represent the start of a new year.

This New Year's Day, what changes will you start to make? Perhaps this New Year's we should all strive not just to improve ourselves, a righteous task in and of itself, but also to improve the world as a whole. Each day people suffer at the hands of others. Many go hungry while others feast. The world lives divided because of small differences like skin tone or differences in the name we use for God. I myself am no saint, nor can I honestly say I am out there fixing each of these ills to the limit every day. However, I try to live my life towards noble goals in hopes that one day I can fix all these ills. It all starts small, each of us, one person at a time. This New Year, begin to live your life in a way that makes you proud to be who you are, and then encourage others to follow your example. In time, may God give us the strength to repair the world.

I wish everyone a safe and Happy New Year.