Happy New Year! And thank you for joining me through these Various Inklings since the fake New Year of January 1st.Â
Yes, I would like to celebrate this New Year in September with some ruminations on an ancient Shinto fire festival that happens in February at the Kamikura Shrine in Japan. Indeed.
You see, for me (and for some others in England, at least), the month of September marks the real New Year. It is here, and now, we begin again. And perhaps we are ready for some predictable structure.Â
Out of the Chaos of the summer, whether through going too hard at some music festivals, juggling work with children at home, or diving too deep into the undercurrents of family dynamics, we are desperately in need of some Order. And if you are not ready for Order, I suggest recreating your own version of The Oto Matsuri fire festival (see video from Rev. Peter Owen-Jones’s brilliant Around The World in 80 Faiths for guidance.)
This ingenious (and indigenous) Japanese ritual, shouts a universal truth:  from chaos comes order. It is a piece of wisdom at the heart of many creation myths. And, despite appearing like an incredibly incongruous and shocking scene in such an ordered and polite society, it makes sense. No wonder the two thousand men who climb the mountain - full of booze, fire torches, fighting, bleeding, falling, running, shouting, burning, pushing, punching – return to their homes ready for the orderly peace of family, jobs, and civilisation. Indeed, the prayers they write on their torches are often for things like ‘traffic safety, ‘happy homes’, and so on. The chaos of being trapped inside a burning shrine, full of alcohol and violence, with the highly dangerous stampede that follows, is inextricably linked to the ordered lives and answered prayers that ensue in the new year ahead. It seems we need to let off steam (although I am not advocating violence and excess alcohol – they’re not my cup of chaos). But we do need places and spaces for the destructively creative and fiery forces of our psyche to unleash their power in some way, shape, or form. We need to encounter the uncertainties, dangers, and humiliations of Chaos to re-desire, re-claim, and re-build our lives into some kind of structured, peaceful, and liveable Order.Â
I’m not sure I believe in Balance 365 – a consumer fallacy of the self-improvement movement - when we somehow manage to systemise, optimise, and actualise our daily life into perfect harmony, symmetry and productivity. Despite its appeal, it’s not possible. Just look at creation. Observe the seasons. There is a time for order and a time for chaos. Indeed, according to the writer of Ecclesiastes (my favourite book in the Bible) there is a time for everything:
‘a time to be born and a time to die
a time to plant and a time to uproot
a time to kill and a time to heal
a time to tear down and a time to build
a time to weep and a time to laugh
a time to mourn and a time to dance
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing
a time to search and a time to give up
a time to keep and a time to throw away
a time to tear and a time to mend
a time to be silent and a time to speak
a time to love and a time to hate
a time for war and a time for peace’
So, if you’ve let it slip and slide this summer (physically, mentally, socially, economically, morally, intellectually, politically, etc), perhaps try and see the Chaos as a necessary beat in the rhythm of your year; a much-needed resource to fuel some desire for peaceful relationships, productive work, and good health. And if you haven’t embraced the Chaos of the summer (eating, drinking, burning, sleeping, arguing, binging, spending TOO MUCH), then perhaps consider building in a bit of time for some destructive shenanigans (otherwise, in my experience anyway, the chaos has a habit of turning up where, and when, we least want it: in our close relationships, homes, and places of work).
For me, this next season is a time of productivity, sobriety, and order. And I can’t think of a better way of beginning this New Year than with a public conversation with Oliver Burkeman on Tuesday 10th September at City Screen Picturehouse, York, 7pm. Oliver Burkeman is the author of the Sunday Times bestselling Four Thousand Weeks and The Antidote, and for many years wrote a popular weekly column on psychology for the Guardian, 'This Column Will Change Your Life'. His work has also appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Psychologies and New Philosopher. I will be talking to Oliver about his new book Meditations For Mortals, which is deeply wise, genuinely helpful, and brilliantly liberating. It would be great to see you there if you can make it. Tickets via Waterstones.
And then… after a prolonged period of Order, I will be more than ready to harness and unleash some explosive divine Chaos at The Apocalypse Disco on Saturday 21st December for our Winter Solstice Party and Debut EP Launch. You’re very welcome to join us for some fire and ice. Get your tickets.
Happy New Year!
People forget, our lives emerge from an extremely tumultuous moment- the wrenching violence of birth.
There is also creativity in destruction. Forest fires re-carbonise the soil and burn away deadwood allowing a far stronger forest to emerge from the ashes. In the west we wrongly associate all violence with destruction.