The End of the World is Coming?

Yes, hundreds of millions of people could die from a senseless horrific nuclear war, twenty Krakatoa sized volcanoes erupting at once, massive world-wide earthquakes, a meteor crashing into the earth, magnetic pole shifting, a worldwide flu pandemic, immense explosions on the sun, or global warming causing the oceans to rise by 50 feet.  Yes, it could be coming: Doomsday, Armageddon, Apocalypse, Cataclysm!  Or, maybe, could be, possibly, could happen, some old book says ...

Shiva, The Destroyer, will eliminate the Universe with one wink of his Third Eye.  Eris will create Chaos.  Jehovah God will shake the earth asunder and burn it to a crisp and fulfill the Book of Revelations.  Mayan gods will realign the planets to seal our doom.  Gorgons will appear in all our dreams and turn us to stone.  Kali will add all our heads to her waistband.  Hell demons led by Satan will eat all our children.  Yama will slaughter the entire human race and laugh.   Kuk will reestablish the Priomordial Darkness.  Aipaloovik will cover the entire earth with sea water, and sink the New Age Ark funded by rich American televangelists.  Nostradamus’s magickal crystal ball will go black and then explode. 

Or, on a smaller scale, all my loved ones could die from eating a Christmas dinner poisoned by some contaminated food stuff, or by bullets from a crazed and cruel mass murderer in a seaside resort, or from a train wreck spewing chemical poisons in the air by our home, or in a massive auto accident in the fog, or by thirty ugly terrorists doing Allah’s dirty work with three jets.  Or, maybe, possibly, could happen, ....

Yes, we have many reasons for real fear.  And, I’m not talking about “pretend fear” like sitting safely and watching a horror or suspense film in a movie theater or watching a Fox News fear mongering diatribe. 

There are at least two common ways for dealing with real fear: flight or fight.

The “flight” response is very popular.  Ignore discussion about and don’t think about these possible disasters and tragedies.  Many sincere folks repeat to themselves over and over that their soul is eternal and that they will never die, or what God has created can never be destroyed - and this assuages their fears.  Some adopt the view that most ancient religious theories and predictions are just fables and groundless nonsense, and just don’t bother listening to them.  Many find ways to run away, stay away, retreat, burrow, hole up, wall themselves away, hide from danger, take the path of the refugee. 

Fighting against the many sources of fear makes some sense at the practical individual and community level.  We try to stay fit and healthy to delay our inevitable death.  We try to maintain a peaceful, stable and productive society to put food on the table, shelter over our families, and prevent criminal violence.  We seek rational and scientific solutions to dangers where applicable.  We work politically to provide safety nets for the less fortunate, to get rid of nuclear weapons and to discourage gun lust.  We can do nothing to “fight” natural disasters like a meteor crashing into the earth or volcanoes erupting.  I also don’t recommend “fighting” by sacrificing a few men to the gods like the Mayans did, celebrating crucifixions, or by blowing up a crowded marketplace like Islamic Jidhadis do nowadays to ally their fears and appease their cruel god. 

So, what am I going to do leading up to the Winter Solstice of 2012?  Be courageous and carry on.  Fight when it makes sense to fight, and retreat in body and/or mind when it makes sense to flee.  Don’t worry about matters out of my control.  Accept the fact that statements about the future have degrees of certainty and uncertainty.  Help others enjoy our time on this beautiful earth.  Go to work.  Plan for our NeoPagan Yule celebrations.  Take a walk and play some Tai Chi.  Enjoy our next meal.  Be uplifted by music and books.  Respect and admire good women and men.  Smile at and help children.  Be generous and grateful.  Think in positive and optimistic ways.  Cherish beauty.  Wonder.  Live like a Taoist Yogi.  And, at the end, don’t make a fuss and just die.     

Anyway, my friendly advisor, Master Chang San Feng, has told me that the Mayan astrologer's calculations were entirely incorrect, their shaman soothsayers were too intoxicated on jimson weed to envision the future correctly, they were depressed because all their families were sadly leaving their villages because of prolonged drought; and, that the doomsday Mayan lore will bring lots of tourist business to Mexico. 

So, are you going to whine and grovel in fear; or, think, carry on and fight on?