What follows is my last journal entry of the second millenium.
Yes, I’m one of those nit-pickers who insists that the new millenium begins on January 1, 2001, and not January 1, 2000. You begin counting at one, after all, and there was no year zero. The second millenium ends tonight, and the third begins tomorrow. Accept it, and move on.
So, this is the end of the year 2000, the end of the twentieth century, and the end of the second millenium. It’s also the first day of my thirty-fourth year on the planet; I was born on New Year’s Eve (not all that close to midnight, I’m afraid), and that means that today, in addition to marking the end of the year, century, and millenium, I turn 33 years old. That makes today an especially good day for reflection.
So, here I am at thirty-three. What have I accomplished? Consider how other people have been at age thirty-three:
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At the age of thirty-three Alexander the Great had conquered much of the known world (known to the Greek at any rate) and was well on his way to establishing a great empire;
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At the age of thirty-three Jesus Christ had pretty much established a new religion, radically reforming the monotheism of the Jews of his time and inspiring new hope among the people of occupied Israel and was on his way to being crucified (and redeeming mankind of their sins, if your faith includes that); and
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At the age of thirty-three, my biological father had been dead for twelve years.
I suppose that I could look upon those accomplishments and feel a bit insignificant. I haven’t conquered any Mediterranean countries. I haven’t redeemed mankind’s sins. And I haven’t died. What in the world have I been doing with myself?
More than some, I suppose. And less than others.
This past year has, for me personally at least, seen more changes in my life than I’ve had in the past decade. I’m engaged to be married to the most incredible woman I’ve ever known, after years of believing that I was destined to be single all my life (I had, in fact, become quite comfortable with the thought of being a 79-year-old crazy bachelor playing chess in the park with the other crazy old bachelors). I’m well on my way to being a homeowner (a friend of mine, who will be best man at my wedding, says he’s looking forward to seeing how financially conservative I will become in the next couple of years after so many years of being so liberal). And I’ve made a successful transition from one career field to a radically different one. In truth, I’m starting my 34th year as a totally different person than I was a year ago, and a much better person for it.
It has been quite a ride.
The past millenium saw quite a lot of changes for the world as well — we went, in just a thousand years, from a collection of pre-medieval agrarian societies to a large, relatively integrated, information-driven global civilization. Quite an accomplishment, if I do say so myself. I think that we all ought to be very proud of ourselves. Granted, most of the biggest changes have only happened in the past fifty years or so, but it’s still a major transition.
I’m excited about the coming millenium. I probably won’t be around for much of it, unfortunately, but I’m optimistic about the future, both my own and the world’s in general. I honestly feel that while things have been pretty good up until now, overall, the best is yet to be.
Starting with the new year, century, and millenium, this journal will get a new name, and, possibly later on, another new look. To both of my regular readers, I wish you a happy, safe, and prosperous new year. Be well, be happy, and take good care of yourselves and of those you love and of those who love you.