Janus is the strange two-faced god of the Roman pre-Christian pagan religion for whom the month of January is named. He's an interesting god, for one thing because of his two faces. He looks both forward and backward simultaneously. He's also the god of doors, looking both inward and outward at the same time. Interestingly, he's a god that doesn't have a match in the Greek pantheon--the Romans came up with him on their own.
As we enter a new year, I think Janus has both advice and warnings for us. It's tempting to put all of our focus in one direction. Many of us want to put 2007 behind us and look for the future. Others seem stuck in the past and can't even give 2008 a side glance. Now, I'm not suggesting that we can really grow a second face on the backs of our head, but metaphorically there's something to be said for the attempt.
Every year, I make New Years resolutions--all of the things I'll do better this year. But I'm a forward-looker. One thing I have to force myself to do is actually look at last year's list. Why? Because I'm afraid I'll see the same things listed. It isn't really dwelling on our failures to learn from the past, though.
Well, Janus--I'm doing my best to balance the past and future. Now maybe you'll open some new doors for me.
Happy New Year, everyone. I hope 2008 will be wonderful for you and open new doors for all of us.
Rob Preece
Publisher, www.BooksForABuck.com
Affordable Electronic Fiction
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
No, Rob, it's not a failure to look at her past list. We learn from our past otherwise what would be the point of having 'history' taught, right?
I always check on my past acceptances and rejections as a writer to see how many were sent so I can up it for this year or lower, depending on the situation.
Lea Schizas
Post a Comment