"Lights, please."

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, 'Fear not: for behold, I bring unto you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.' And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.'"

"That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown."

A Late Season's Greetings

So it has been over a fortnight since I have updated this blog and for that I sincerely apologize. I am posting now to greet you on this day, the Eve of Christmas, and wish you good tidings and luck for the remainder of this year and to the next. And happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Eid for those who do not celebrate Christmas, but take rejoicing in the arms of a different religion.

As we prepare to celebrate the holidays that mark the end of 2008, I think that reflection on the events of the past year is more than necessary, considering the state of the world in which we make our current living.

Indeed, there is much to be worried about.

However, I express the sentiment of hope that better times will come. Perhaps not today, perhaps not tomorrow, but someday, someday soon. I am truly lucky to be where I am today, living in a house in suburban Nothern Virginia and going to college, but I often wonder about the circumstances of others different from me.

The families with members fighting wars abroad and on the home front in the far reaches of the world.

The families struggling to make ends meet in the sagging global economy.

The families across the world working to put food into their bowls and on the table.

I've taken to watching and reading the news more in recent times, and I realize this year that Santa Claus is not coming for many families. But what hope they had in Santa, they all have in each other.

That is all they need. Indeed, it is all we will ever need.

A Thought on Existence

It is past midnight and I have just finished reading Contact by Carl Sagan. It is a task that has taken me about a month to complete (yes, you will find I am a snail of a reader). However, the pace with which one reads should have little impact on the experience itself.

I found this to be a marvelous book on the subject of the existence extraterrestrial beings and their initial contact with humanity. While I will not languish on the details of the plot (I will defer this to action on your own part), this book inspires in me a sense of how truly insignificant we are as extant beings.

For those who have taken upon themselves to learn of extremely rudimentary cosmology (accomplished simply by visiting Wikipedia), they will know that the universe in itself will not last forever. At least not in its current state. Gradually, the stars will die. Indeed, our own star which we call the Sun will fail and the universe will become a cold and dark place.

It must be strange for one to think (even accept) that one day we will cease to exist. I think it strange too, but beautiful at the same time. I am reminded by the song "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" by Neutral Milk Hotel, where Jeff Mangum sings at the end, "Can't believe how strange it is to be anything at all!"

The fact that we exist is something beautiful to grasp, but the fact that some things we are doing in our existence saddens me. Some of the things we do to each other are horrible, terrible and evil. But my heart rejoices at the individual uniqueness to us all, the differences in what we aspire to be, of what we hope to accomplish and how we make use of our time to the fullest here on what Sagan calls the pale blue dot.

To end this introductory post, I will include a quote from "Poem Number 1741" by Emily Dickinson which Sagan has included in one of the final chapters of Contact:

That it will never come again

Is what makes life so sweet.

This is a test of the Emergency Alert System...

This is only a test...