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I’m a fan of taking stock of my life on my personal new year—my birthday. A birthday seems an ideal time pause and reflect, lest you wake up one day and wonder where the hell your life went.
But I also love the collective enthusiasm that comes with the calendar* new year. We humans measure our time and experience by the calendar. It’s our framework—as damned contrived as it is—and gives us a common metric to use and communicate with.
The shared experience of renewed hope and optimism is fun to be a part of. It’s contagious. Friends reach out with well-wishes, do year-end reviews, and share their plans for the coming year.
I’m not one for news year resolutions, but I do like the thought of a clean calendar to fill with adventures and achievements, just like everyone else.
Wiped clean
That’s the long way of getting to this week’s image—one of many hundreds I’ve shot at Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. And it reminds me of the new year, in its unspoiled state.
Every day, people trek into the park and walk up and down the dunes, leaving footprints. The volume grows throughout the day into a giant web, blanketing the dunes.
Then overnight, the wind resets the dunes to their smooth, untrodden state. The new year is the existential equivalent.
And it’s lovely to celebrate it together as we look towards putting the past behind and face a new year fresh with hope for what it will offer and what we can achieve.
Cheers, friends! Happy new year.
Bluesky Art Show
This post is inspired by the Bluesky Art Show, a challenge to share artwork surrounding a weekly theme each Saturday.
*Yes, there are a variety of different calendars in use in the world but the massive majority of the world uses the Gregorian so don’t nit-pick, ok?
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