“And they lived happily ever after. The end" is the way many children’s stories conclude. Other books, some movies, plays and narrated stories announce the end with just those words—“The end.” All physical things have a beginning and an end.

You and I had a beginning. We were conceived and born. The rest of creation that we see—all of the plants and trees and birds and bees—one day came into existence. We all had a beginning, and we will all come to our physical end.

In a recent survey of some 51,000 households in 34 nations, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development found that just “over half the respondents from former Soviet states also thought a return to a more authoritarian system would be a plus in some circumstances” (The Guardian, December 13, 2016).

In the coming year, Britain will continue work on its exit from the EU, and America will inaugurate a president with no political experience. France will hold elections and could select a social conservative who may move closer to Russia (Rasmussen Reports, November 29, 2016). Italy’s political future is uncertain, and anti-immigration sentiments are growing in Holland and Germany.

Does it frustrate you that so many things are made with “planned obsolescence” built in? You know, the product falls apart or quits working soon after the warranty expires? As you walk the aisles of your favorite store, are you appalled at the flood of cheaply made merchandise that becomes worthless soon after being put to use? Then, there are activities that soak up a lot of our time without resulting in anything positive or productive.