And So Comes A New Year

And so passes another year on this journey of ours we call life. We carry on, hoping to be better moving forward than we were in the past. For many, that is the goal, and so it should be. Without that drive to continually improve ourselves, we lay stagnant and decay. Atrophy sets in and obliterates any chance of progress and growth, if we allow it. Yet allow it, we must not. We must push forth and push right, never straying with willing steps onto the path of dismay.

Ice Age humans
The darkest time in human history was arguably the last “Ice Age” over 10,000 years ago, when nomadic hunter-gatherer humans survived on Earth during a time when the planet was a barren wasteland.

Many have struggled with times passing by, and will struggle with times yet to come. Such is our lot in life as human beings. We, the chosen ones who have weathered so many storms through which so many more have perished. Ice ages, supervolcanos, plagues, famine, and wars that shook the foundations of the world. Humanity stands apart from so many other forms of life on Earth that would have been whisked away by the winds of change so very long ago. To endure is thus our lot in life as the inheritors of the Earth standing above the rest.

Fall of Rome
Political instability, supervolcanos blocking the sun, plagues, famine, and constant war saw the apex of Roman civilization during a time of great strife for Humanity, and yet humans rose from this era of tragedy to achieve even greater heights.

Many have questioned since time began why suffering, strife, and hardship may be permitted to persist across time and space. If benevolent forces rule the world, why does the world seem a perpetual haven for the sinister and the depraved. For me, I have long understood that without suffering to challenge us, we become weak. Without strife to threaten us, we become slow. Without hardship to sharpen us, we become dull. The darkness in the hearts of our fallen brethren keeps us growing stronger to continually save the world from being consumed. And by keeping strong out of need to keep the dark at bay, we remain with the strength we need to withstand the trials of nature and disasters born not of our hands, which would wipe away any weak-willed people with not the resolve to live through hell.

French Revolution
The Age of Revolutions saw mass chaos and bloodshed grip the Earth as discontent arose with the monarchical systems of governance which prevailed for a time, and yet humans came together when the dust settled and found peace once again in spite of all the madness.

Sure as it is the sun will rise the next day, so it is sure the days ahead will be filled with as much strife or more as those we have thus far endured. And while many have endured so much in recent times they may feel they do not know how much they can bear, I know in my heart of hearts the will of the people to endure and overcome has not yet been pushed close to the brink of defeat, and there is so much more those people can do. As darkness rises once again for the great challenge of this century, we are each of us being trained to darker times ahead by the shadows we face today.

D-Day solider
Prior to the invention of the atomic bomb and the advent of nuclear deterrence of invasions, political instability once again led Humanity into a series of conflicts which culminated with the Second World War that shook the peoples of Earth like never before, and yet still Humanity rose up once again and continued moving onward.

Looking back at the darkness Humanity has endured in ages past and in the times at hand, I cannot help but anticipate what we might be preparing for. I see all hardship endured as training for conflict and crisis yet to come. With such tremendous shadow abound, I imagine the free peoples of Earth must either be on the verge of achieving great victory over tyranny once again, or perhaps we are being prepared for new battles with evil yet to come. Whatever the case may be, we must face those times with courage and conviction, never waning in our dedication to liberty, truth, and justice in the face of oblivion. There is no greater honor than to face the evils which may threaten our children and push them out with the light at our side, sparing our progeny from the troubles of our day.

Fall of Kabul
Political instability led to the Fall of Kabul when the Pentagon prematurely pulled air support and logistics prior to evacuating civilians during the withdraw from Afghanistan, leaving many trapped with little hope of escape from the Taliban and the influence of their communist allies in Beijing, prompting private citizens and non-profit groups to mobilize privately chartered planes to insert into the hostile zone and extract civilians in an impressive display of human ingenuity to overcome adversity in the face of extreme challenge.

Happy New Year to all the free peoples of Earth fighting battles both big and small, within themselves and with the world around them. May all the warriors of light find victory and strength this new year as liberty and tyranny continue their never ending clash across the ages. Stay brave. Stay strong. Stay true. Happy New Year.


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All posts by The Pen and Sword are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Published by Louis

I am a freelance writer and English tutor from the United States.

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