According to Jewish tradition, the sun completes its cycle in the universe every 28 years. This morning, coincidentally the morning of the first night of Passover, the sun is said to begin its new cycle.
Late medieval sun prayer, courtesy http://www.renaissanceastrology.com
Not a particularly religious person, I cannot help but fervently join those celebrating today, in looking forward to new beginnings, to a new dawn, to the world made anew.
Perhaps it is just me, and my personal situation, confronted as I am with the necessity of reinventing my professional life in the teeth of a miserable recession. Sure the choice was mine to walk away from hawking mutual funds and lipstick (as I like to put it), and transition into the public sector, the non-profit sector, the education sector, in the hope of accomplishing something more personally meaningful. But the air itself seems to be full of change and new beginnings: the sudden thaw in America’s relationship with Cuba, a new direction in Middle East diplomacy, radical and yet-to-be-understood changes in both the private and public sector economies.
Novus Ordo Seclorum meets dona nobis pacem. American as apple pie, this protean self, this wish for glorious new beginnings. We call on our g*d or g*ds, whatever their names, for a long-overdue reinvigoration of civic pride; a chance to restore our lives, our families, our communities; a new opportunity to wage peace, and appreciate our relative prosperity. So whether you find your inspiration today in this ancient rite, in the supplications of the dark, middle days of Easter week, the mindfulness of Pesach, or merely the incrementally higher inclination of a friendly old star in its nearly timeless meridians, let us share, this day, our hopes for a world made anew.
Inspirations and Aspirations 