We look before and after...

We often greet our loved ones this season with sentiments like “May all the days before you be filled with love, laughter and happiness.” Just the other day, while I was signing off another New Year card, something queer struck me about the word “before.” It signifies all that has happened earlier, the things in the past, the Before. It equally stands for that which is in front of us, that which is yet to happen, that other Before. In fact, it may as well have been another word for Janus, the Roman god famous in myths for being two-headed, and for whom the month of January is named.
January is the month when we are at the crossroads of time, looking fore and aft. Looking back to the bleak days of winter and looking forth for the first robin of spring. This, then, is the time when we greet each other with wisdom — for wisdom springs from such bi-directional gaze, from knowing that what has gone before still lies before us, that everything is here for the taking and all that we need to do is to see. Wishing you all a very happy gazing time. A very happy new year.
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