Leave the great indoorsnotes on the journey

This is the time of year when the Internet goes crazy with “Best of 2009″ lists.  And I have to admit, I love it.  From the most-watched YouTube videos of 2009, to Mashable’s insightful “What Twitter and Facebook’s 2009 Trends Tell Us About Ourselves,” to the Wall Street Journal’s best photos of 2009, we just love reflection and fresh starts at the end of each year.  Today is also the day when, every year, I find it completely impossible to get the Counting Crows song A Long December out of my head:

It’s been a long December / And there’s reason to believe / That maybe this year will be better than the last

What is it about the turn of the year that fills us with so much hope, and drives us to make all sorts of resolutions about how much better we’ll be in the coming year?  The history of New Year’s Resolutions is quite interesting and goes all the way back to 153 B.C. when Janus, a mythical roman god, was placed at the head of the calendar:

The Romans named the first month of the year after Janus, the god of beginnings and the guardian of doors and entrances. He was always depicted with two faces, one on the front of his head and one on the back. Thus he could look backward and forward at the same time. At midnight on December 31, the Romans imagined Janus looking back at the old year and forward to the new.

Janus became the ancient symbol for resolutions and many Romans looked for forgiveness from their enemies and also exchanged gifts before the beginning of each year.

[Source: The History of New Year's Resolutions]

So in keeping with that tradition, I’ll keep looking backward until midnight tonight, and then turn around to look at new beginnings.  It’s going to be a gigantic year for us with our move back to South Africa, our daughter’s first birthday, etc.  But in the end, my resolution is pretty simple:

Connect to the Internet less, with people more.

And it looks like I’m not the only one.  See my earlier post on the perils of information addiction, and Advent Conspiracy‘s call to “give more presence” during the Christmas season.  I see even John Mayer is getting in on the action, calling for a one week digital cleanse, starting tomorrow.

So here’s to a year of connection with those we know and especially those we don’t yet know (or only know digitally).  It’s been a long December.  But maybe this year will be better than the last.  Happy New Year!