I wanted to riff a bit on a theme that a collegue of mine touched on earlier in the year regarding the relative importance that some people place on ultimately arbitrary dates. Why do people put so much emphasis on making resolutions at the start of a new year? or a new month for that matter? Is it simply the need for a ‘clean’ boundary to demarcate things?
The interesting thing is, people seem to find these significant dates all over the place. Recently, there was a modicum of apocryphal hysteria in the tech community because the representation of time in computers was going to be 1234567890 last week. And, to add surety to that, that same day was Friday the 13th, that assuredly unlucky day for all. *GASP*. Yet, somehow, the date passed without incident (as far as I am aware).
What of other dates that are supposed to have such significance? As was previously pointed out, even the concept of ‘what day it is’ is a bit of a made up construct depending upon which calendar system you happen to choose (Gregorian, Julian, Islamic, Hebrew, or Chinese, etc).
What of these ‘special’ dates themselves? It appears that over the years they have just multiplied (seemingly at the whim of the greeting card industry). We now how Teacher’s Day, Grandparent’s Day, Student’s Day, Administrative Assistant’s Day, Valentines Day, Earth Day, Groundhog Day, Arbor Day and the list goes on and on. In many cases these ‘holidays’ are celebrated on different days in different countries; in some cases they aren’t celebrated at all. My point is, why can’t you be nice to these people on every day? Why is a ‘special’ day needed to take action? Is something that happened (or didn’t) on Earth Day, really more special than if it happened (or didn’t) on any other day?
I fear that such relative value placed on arbitrary days can be the source of resentment and disappointment for some. For sure, some dates, such as anniversaries should be noted and commemorated accordingly (birthday and wedding celebrations and more solemn remembrances of those no longer with us). These are tied to actual events on actual days and (if one chooses) have actual significance. No need to wait for the first of the month to celebrate or for the next greeting card holiday.
I recently rediscovered these quotes; both of which relate back to this whole theme:
“I conceive that the great part of the miseries of mankind are brought upon them by false
estimates that they have made of the value of things.”
— Benjamin Franklin
and
“We live in an age when unnecessary things are our only necessities.”
— Oscar Wilde
I guess this is my long, rattling way to say “make the best of every day, express your gratitude and recognize, that, after all, good or bad, it is just another day”.