Things That Have Never Been Seen

And now let us believe in a long year that is given to us, new, untouched, full of things that have never been seen.
— Rainer Maria Rilke, 1895-1926
Austrian poet

January 1, 2024
Monday

Hello, old friends, new friends, casual followers. Hello to you, reading this. It is very likely you will see a lot of blog posts today that quote Rilke. His advice is often truncated. In truth, he has more to say on the subject: “And now let us believe in a long year that is given to us, new, untouched, full of things that have never been, full of work that has never been done, full of tasks, claims, and demands; and let us see that we learn to take it without letting fall too much of what it has to bestow upon those who demand of it necessary, serious, and great things.”

There is nothing really magical about this day. It’s entirely arbitrary. January 1 has been the start of the universal civil new year since 1582, when Pope Gregory XIII, seeking to correct mistakes and miscalculations that had crept into calendars followed by disparate nations and cultures, established the calendar that bears his name. It alludes to the Roman god Janus, whose head has two faces, one looking forward, one looking back.

I’m not going to look back, listing, with a sigh, all the ways I failed to make progress on my goals. I’m just going to draw a line (something I am adept at) and begin again. I draw on the power of the Holy Spirit, depicted above, my muse and my protector, who “over the bent/ World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.”