I hereby take the liberty to propose this most outrageous idea. In several million years none of our mistakes are going to be remembered, and neither are we, so let's change attitudes and change Leap Year to Party Year. Remember the children we are supposed to be like? Alas, the calendar doesn't change much, and we won't either in just a day. I think we need more than just a day every four years.
Better yet, let's be totally illogical and go for all we can get. Let's think about what we need most for our mental, physical and spiritual well-being, plan what is absolutely essential, and change the old calendar. Let's eliminate February 29th every four years and save those days. In 1,460 years we will have saved 365 days. That's a whole year, a year that is ours to enjoy as we wish: to garden, to sleep, to swing with children, to dance and sing, to swim and run, to read and play and pray. We could at long last have the chance to put all our ways of life to the test, and hope that our particular beliefs and practices will sustain us. Need a break?
I see the flaw, we won't be here. No problem. We can practice simple, contemporary banking methods of borrowing against the future. Here's how. Let's borrow 365 days from the future and pay them back later. Imagine this, the note won't be due till 3452 AD! Current lending laws encourage rapid spending of borrowed assets, so let's spend our days at the beginning of the 1,460 year period.
There's a couple of technicalities. We won't be able to begin until next Leap Year, February 29th, 2000 and I'd like to start now. At midnight of that day we suspend the calendar, spend our borrowed 365 days, and a year later reinstate the calendar on March 1st, 2000. Anyone around in 3452 AD with any snap (someone who could figure out what we were doing) could borrow the days again or save them for the future. If we manage our days well, we could favorably influence how we are remembered in the distant future.
Our past reveals that until the Middle Ages there were over 100 holidays a year, and for most of our human past, we have been able to provide all our needs in about 15 hours a week. Now that the average American workweek is pushing 50 hours, it's no wonder we need a break. The other technicality is not obvious for several hundred years. With no Leap Year, and its extra day to make up for the fact that the earth spins faster than the creators of the Julian calendar intended it to, in 730 years the calendar will be 180 degrees off. June 20th will fall on the Winter Solstice. But that won't be our problem, we won't be here.
Assuming we elect to take our year off, what would we do? Failing to agree upon what is absolutely essential, we could very well waste our time off. What if we had to start our break today and did not have four years to think about how to live? What have we learned that will be essential? What do we discard as non-essential? What foods do we import? How much food can we grow ourselves? Who hauls water and chops wood? How far can I travel in a day? Where do I wash a soiled diaper so as not to pollute someone else's water? What energy sources do we have now that will power our year off? Most importantly, what will help me grow corn? Already my mind needs a break, but I have no problem with essentials. I eat the world's best cherry tomatoes ripe off the vine, I splash in no water better than that in the tiny creeks up in the Ozark hills, I sniff no flower sweeter than the one smashed against Dada's nose by my 8-year-old daughter. The simple joys of life are not passing me by. I consume less, and enjoy life more.
I'm pretty sure I'll never convince enough folks to adopt my idea, so if I can't go way out and play, I intend to give myself every break along the way, not forget to smell the flowers, and strive towards a MegaVitalic way to live, literally, a Great Life. What seems most essential is to get the most out of life while being ever considerate of the needs of others. It is time to give our planet a break, not break the planet. I intend to continue to examine my own ideas of what is essential, but in the meantime, it's break time.