Saturday, I have permission to drive subsequent to the heart procedure.  I returned to Starbucks.  When I reflect, words to describe my feelings come with difficulty, the irregular heartbeat has been eliminated with a minimum of disruption to my life.  A “Christmas miracle,” a credit to a host of individuals, especially to those no longer present who advanced the science of medicine.  I hope that I’ll not forget — there was a time when there was no treatment, only desperate hope, and request for the incantations of the local shaman.

The coming week will bring Christmas day, exchange of gifts, and then New Year’s day, two events separated by a few days.  The nativity story is a central myth of the West, and the advent of another year is a time of new beginning no matter the culture.  Seductive tale is it not, that a newborn becomes adult that makes a critical difference in the destiny of humanity….

This is an invitation “to believe” not a proposition of probability.  Do I still believe?  Sometimes.  But not always.  To believe is not a mere matter of choice, something that is “up to me.”

I remember the two years that I lived in Japan.  In Japan anticipation of New Year’s day is extraordinary.  I read this announcement in the Japan Times:

Japan chose the kanji “sen” (戦), meaning war, battle or match, on Monday as the symbol for 2022 after a year marked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the assassination of former leader Shinzo Abe.

The public votes in the annual event for the written character they think best represents the past year… The mood was darker this year, however, according to the Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, which organizes the vote.

“The invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the shooting of former Prime Minister Abe, and the rapid yen depreciation and inflation faced in daily life have caused anxiety for many people,” the group said in a news release.  Japanese TV stations broadcast the announcement live, with Seihan Mori, master of the ancient Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto, writing the character on a large white panel with an ink-soaked calligraphy brush.   — Japan Times

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How can we dismiss Ukraine from our thoughts?  Ukrainians resist the will of an autocrat to obliterate their country and people.  I think the outcome is up to them, and up to us.  At least in part.