A fresh start

Back in 1986 a New Year's Day editorial in The New York Times echoed the traditional hope of millions: "On Jan. 1 we get to start all over again, and this time to do it right."

Logic tells us that any given day or month holds as much promise as any other. Yet surveys say that more than half of us will make new resolutions on the first of January. High among our resolves will be to change some personal habits.

Clearly, something basic in the human heart wants to break free of behavior that's stuck in old mental grooves. It's a timeless yearning. During ancient harvest rituals, in celebration of a new cycle of time, people would purge the past and purify themselves for the future by extinguishing the fires they were using and by starting new ones.

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