Happy New Year to all! Feliz Ano Novo!!!! Feliz año nuevo. Szcz??liwego Nowego Roku.
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Eduardo Galeano’s Children of the Days for 12/31 & 1/1:
[The first of two of Galeano’s inspirations, herein below this introduction of mine, seems like a good one for those who are in the health care field. … However, “Give your fire until the last of your days.” could (of course) be used with a different meaning in mind concerning universally living healthy in an ethic of reciprocity.
A very important aspect of individual and local/global (ecological) community health care is to constantly search for (scientific) knowledge. However, since we are so very ignorant and know little about what we are doing (& this will never change), WE MUST–as “professional” & “amateur” scientists (all of us should think of ourselves as generalist-scientists who are seeking scientific knowledge)–ALSO MAKE A CONCERTED EFFORT TO LIVE HUMBLE, SIMPLY, SMALLY, & SLOWLY (i.e., abide by the Precautionary Principle) in order to reach some sort of “dynamic equilibrium” of holistic, comprehensive, profound community health. … I do constantly provoke family & friends about this in hopes that some of them might listen and perhaps even continue to spread this idea of an ETHIC OF RECIPROCITY, as well as help as a community to understand the HOW? we might do a better job of truly realizing such an ethos globally. … This is the fire I will try to give until the last of my days!?! … Abracadabra.]
“December 31
Voyage of the Word
In Rome in the year 208, Quintus Serenus Sammonicus wrote Liber medecinalis, a book in which he revealed his discoveries in the arts of healing.
Among other remedies, this physician to two emperors, poet and owner of the best library of his time, proposed an infallible way to avoid tertian fever and keep death at bay: by hanging a word across your chest day and night.
The word was ‘Abracadabra,’ which in ancient Hebrew meant and still means, ‘Give your fire until the last of your days.'”
“January 1
Today
Today is not the first day of the year for the Mayas, the Jews, the Arabs, the Chinese or many other inhabitants of this world.
The date was chosen by Rome, imperial Rome, and blessed by Vatican Rome, and it would be an overstatement to say that all humanity celebrates today as the crossing from one year to the next.
That said, today we ought to acknowledge that time treats us rather kindly. Time allows us, its fleeting passengers, to believe that this day could be the very first day, and it gives us leave to want today to be as bright and joyous as the colors of an outdoor market.”
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1. I appreciate folk like Dr. Bill Martin (Baker Institute for Public Policy) for seeking knowledge and working toward more holistic health care for community.
2. I wish I could write like Galeano did.
pbm