New Year's...

While December 31st is a few days away, I have been thinking about the sort of resolutions that I want to make this year. Each year it seems that I make (generally speaking of course) the same or a similar set of resolutions. Each year, sometime around March or April, I find myself falling back into the bad habits of the year before. It's not that I don't earnestly try to keep my resolutions, it's just that not keeping them is so much easier. Perhaps it is the knowledge that I will end up breaking most of these resolutions that I haven't really got in the habit of making grand ones.

While I enjoy the New Year's season as much as the next fellow, sometimes I just can't help but feel that the best way to bring in the New Year would be to do it quietly. After all, January 1st is always a week after December 25th, which at least for my family means a day of celebrations. Although December 25th is fast becoming just another day in the week for me, the constant adds first for Christmas followed by the adds for New Year's at what feels like almost every single store can get overwhelming at time. Being constantly exposed to all of this madness in every parking lot I enter is also far from refreshing. I'm not saying that I don't enjoy seeing all the decorations or watching all of the festivities on the television, but some years I feel that my time would be better spent in bed, either sleeping or reading a good book.

So, as December 31st gets ever closer, and the list of possible resolutions grows ever longer, I can't help but feel just slightly overwhelmed. I know that by the time New Year's Eve rolls around, I will have edited my list of resolutions down from the fifteen or so which I currently have down to a more reasonable five. I admire those that have the conviction to successfully carry out fifteen resolutions throughout the coming year. I one day hope that I have the same sort of determination. However, for the moment, if I manage to keep one out of the five resolutions I plan to make by the 31st, I will count myself very lucky.

Oaths and Oath Breaking

This will be yet another semi-linguistic based blog. When I was in perhaps sixth or seventh grade, I went to Salem, MA, with my folks as I had been long fascinated by (arguably) the most famous set of witch trials in United States history. Some may say that they are the only set of witch trials in our history. My response to that is look at what happened during the great Red scare of the 1950's during the era of Senator McCarthy. However, this is particular post is not about what a witch trial is or when they have occurred in United States history.

When in Salem, one of the many sites we visited was a museum run by contemporary members of the Neo-Pagan community. At the time, I knew little to nothing about the full set of beliefs/practices of that particular religious community. Again, this particular post is not a posting about how I have stumbled through various religious practices during the course of my life. During the tour we took of the museum (the one run by the members of the Neo-Pagan community) our tour guide mentioned that 'warlock', which I had always known as the male equivalent of witch, had at its base an old Scottish word that meant 'betrayer' or 'oath-breaker'. In recent research, I have also seen that it may come from a Norse word which at its core means 'caller of the spirit(s)'. No one is quite sure of the etymology.

I have heard that males within the Church of Satan refer to themselves as warlocks, but I have heard enough about the Church of Satan to know that if this is true, it is most likely done for shock value. No matter what the true origin of warlock may be, or how it is used in contemporary contexts, I am quite fond of the supposed origin meaning 'oath breaker.' In a time where the bond of word was a sacred thing, to be known as one who could not keep their oath would be a very powerful insult. It would also state a lot about an individual's character. Being known as a breaker of oaths is (as seen in most cultural contexts) not a good thing.

However, are there oaths that are better if they are broken? I am not meaning to suggest that all promises made should not be kept. What I am trying to say that if you know that by performing a certain action (which you have promised to do) you will bring harm to self or others, perhaps the best thing to do is to abandon that particular plan of action. While knowing that you have broken an oath is not an easy thing for some to live with, perhaps the guilt from that experience will be more manageable than the guilt of performing whatever action you promised to do. I guess what I am trying to say is that sometimes, oaths need to be broken. However, I am far from an authority on morality.

First Experience Being a Mensch

Having last night written about the definition of what a Mensch is and why I am trying to become one, I now remember the first time I was called by that particular name. While I wish I could be poetic and say it was a year ago to this day, that would be a lie. It was just over a year ago now, and at the time, I was honestly more concerned about my classes than anything else. My college is one of the many that, before the finals really begin, has the alternative gifts fair. If you have never heard of this particular event, I direct you to their website as they can explain it much better than I could ever hope to.

Now back to the story. I was at this alternative gifts fair with a few of my good friends. I had been pestered all December and most of the later part of November for what I might want for the holidays by my relatives. At the time, I honestly didn't want anything except to be back home for the holidays. I was also, as is the custom with me, doing some last minute gift shopping of my own. Being in small town Ohio does not give one many opportunities to get one's holiday shopping done. As I searched the alternative gifts, pieces of paper letting me know what my money would be going towards, I mentioned to my friend Stephanie that perhaps instead of conventional gifts, I would like all of my relatives to get me an alternative gift.

It was then that Stephanie said that would make me a real mensch. I was flattered to be called as much, as by that time some Yiddish had been restored to my vocabulary after many years worth of absence. It was there, in that small room right behind the main dining hall of my college that the idea that has become this blog was born. It was far from what anyone might call a spectacular inception, but since then, I have long thought about what it means to be a mensch and how one can have such a title in this day. So, a little over a full Gregorian (contemporary predominant calender system) year later, here I am, still far from being a mensch in my own estimation.

However New's Year Eve is soon, and that will give me a chance to make my resolutions, most of which I hope will lead me to being a real person of honor and valor.

Meaning of Mensch?

I will be among the first to confess, that I have a love of languages. I am only seriously a student of two besides my native language, however I have more than a few key expressions in perhaps half a dozen others. While I know I will never be proficient in all of the languages I know such phrases in, it is always nice to have one or two expressions in other tongues. If nothing else, it is dead useful for imitating accents (something which I am also rather fond of doing). Because of this love of languages, I am always fascinated when words from other languages find their way into English instead of the other way around. One of my favorite loaner languages is Yiddish, if only for some of the unique sounds in that particular language.

Among my favorite Yiddish words is the word 'mensch.' Growing up on the East Coast (more specifically in Boston) I heard much of this word. However, it wasn't until just over a year ago now that I actually wondered what the word 'mensch' meant. According to miriam-webster website as of 11:43 Pacific Daylight Time, 'mensch' can be interpreted to mean 'a person of integrity and honor.' While I have always hoped to be such a person, I know that I have often times failed. So here, I will keep a record of my attempts to be worthy of the title of mensch. I know that there will be many days when I fall short. I know that there will be times when I question just what I am doing or what I am writing. However, I hope that in time, all of these ramblings come together to show the progress of a young man who began admitting his failings to one who can be counted on by his friends, his family, and perhaps (someday) even his community.

So here's hoping that I someday will hear myself be referred to as 'mensch'. In the meantime though, I'm not holding by breath