When it comes to New Year’s resolutions, I’m definitely a fan. Some people say there’s nothing magical about starting a new year. They scoff at the idea that opening a new calendar can break you out of a rut. But I believe in new beginnings, in the twin powers of ritual and momentum. I believe the new year offers us a chance to start again.
In the study of rhetoric, there are different ways of talking about time, and a distinction is made between chronos (chronological time) and kairos (the moment of opportunity). If you’re familiar with the film Pirates of the Caribbean, you’ll recall that Captain Jack Sparrow is constantly urging his pirate protégé to “wait for the opportune moment”. That’s kairos in a nutshell. It’s about pairing the appropriate words or actions with the right moment in time.
Since this is occasionally a knitting and textile blog, I should mention that for the ancient Greeks, the concept of kairos had its origins in weaving and archery, giving the term both temporal and spatial elements. That is to say, opportunity isn’t just a point in time–it’s also like a physical opening or a portal.
When you’re weaving fabric, you have to locate the correct opening where the shuttle can pass through the warp threads. That’s kairos. But you also have to create that opening, through moving the heddle on the loom. The opening (or the moment of opportunity) doesn’t just magically appear. Rather, the weaver must exert control over the loom.
Similarly, a good archer has to be able to identify kairos–the critical moment when she can release the arrow from the bow. But her ability to recognize that opportunity is inseparable from her skill as an archer, her physical location, and the tools in her hands.
Perhaps you’re wondering: what does this have to do with New Year’s resolutions?
As I’ve suggested above, effective rhetoric involves combining thoughtful language or action with the right timing or context. I’ve made a number of resolutions for 2017–I want to use less plastic, eat less sugar, play more music–but my most important resolution is to find opportunities to speak out, to make my words and actions count.
I’m writing this on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and MLK’s famous I Have a Dream speech is on my mind. This speech gives us one of the best examples of kairos in our nation’s history. At a key cultural moment, in a country divided by racism and economic oppression, King stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and shared a vision of equality and justice that helped shape the nation we live in today. “Now is the time,” he said, and his message struck its target like an arrow released from a bow. King studied his situation and found the right time, the right place, and the right language to convey a powerful message deeply tied to his identity. That’s kairos for you.
Obviously, I’m not any kind of orator, and my days of teaching rhetoric are far behind me. Also, it goes without saying that none of us can compare to Martin Luther King. But no matter who we are, we can bring about small changes: our words and actions can make a difference. So we have to look for opportunities. We need to identify those critical moments and places where our well-chosen words can find an opening. We have to create those opportunities. If we don’t do it now, when will it ever happen?
It’s a new year, and I don’t want the next twelve months to go by without making my best effort to say what I mean. During much of 2016, I was hobbled by grief over the death of my friend Solveig, and at times, I couldn’t see the path in front of me. I missed many of the opportunities that came my way, and I failed to create opportunities as well.
Speaking of opportunities, this is as good a time as any to quote the final couplet from “Against Entropy,” the beautiful sonnet by the late John M. Ford:
Regret, by definition, comes too late;
Say what you mean. Bear witness. Iterate.
None of us are perfect, and we won’t always get it right. But if we want to make art, share our beliefs, or connect with other human beings, we have to make an effort. We have to bear witness. We have to find an opening and take our best shot. Not just because we’re living through a critical period in our nation’s history, but because time itself is critical, and we don’t get any back.
Happy New Year. Let’s get to work.
