Once again I shall step into the song booth confessional:  I cannot STAND “Auld Lang Syne”.  I have always admired the Scots and love bagpipes.  I married a man of Scottish descent.  But I just find that song the most depressing ever in the history of music — and that includes its Irish cousin “Oh Danny Boy.”  I believe it is the consensus of Western society that life is linear.  You are born and life leads up to death.  But with the passing of Old Man Time’s top hat to Baby New Year the cycle repeats.  Native culture believes life is cyclical.  And in the Bible Ecclesiastes 3 verses 1 – 8 says:

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

I suppose at this time we make resolutions to avoid the Sisyphean fate of having to repeat our poor choices into the next year.  As we enter into 2016 tomorrow I pray we all strive for goodness, tolerance, justice and peace.  It all begins within ourselves.