I love a good prophecy of doom. The writings of Nostradamus fascinate me, and I’m intrigued by the Mayan calendar, according to which December 21, 2012 will be the end of the current cycle of time. (Interpretations of this vary widely.)
I remember the excitement of the Y2K drama, and how anticlimactic the actual event felt. I know people who stockpiled supplies in case the entire grid went down and society collapsed.
I, on the other hand, barely knew where my flashlight was.
So obviously, while I enjoy the theory of disaster prophecies, I spend no energy preparing for them.
Enter our friend, RF. RF is a world-wandering spiritual seeker, someone who’s studied with Lakota shamans and lived in the wilderness and follows the guidance of “spirit,” or “intuition,” which speaks to him in hard-to-interpret ways. Those who know and love him have learned to respect his intuition, while not always taking it literally.
RF came to visit recently, and informed us that by the end of 2011, our beautiful piece of land here in Alaska—high on a ridge with views of glaciers—will be underwater.
Okaaaay….
He thinks we should go to Hawaii, which he believes will be thrust further above sea level by the earth changes about to take place. In his opinion, the 2012 date is a little off—it’s really more like late 2011.
I’ve never had a personalized prophecy of doom before, and the experience is interesting.
Nothing against Hawaii, but we have a life here in Alaska that would be hard to permanently uproot. A child, friends, work, a home, a huge investment of energy, time and love. It would take something pretty major to make us walk away from that. We have no plans to do so.
But his warning has made me think. A lot. If the sky is about to fall in some way—where do I want to be? What do I want to be doing? Who do I want to be with? After all, the end could come at any moment. I may not even make it to 2011!
I’ve come to the conclusion that the issue isn’t avoiding disasters I can’t control, but living my life in the truest, most graceful way possible until then. If disaster strikes, I want to be with my family, doing the things we love. Basically, I want to be right where I am. Maybe that’s the real purpose of a prophecy of doom—making you examine your life and make changes if any are needed.
Of course, I’ll have my snorkel gear handy come late 2011. And December’s always a nice time of year to visit Hawaii.
What do you think of doom prophecies? What do you think will happen in 2012? What would you do if someone gave you a warning like this? Should we be packing up to go somewhere else?
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5 comments:
Well, around here prophecies of doom tend to be more localized--the pine bark beetles are going to wipe out all the forests if the wild fires don't burn them down first. After Y2K, it's hard to take any of the more sweeping prophecies all that seriously, I guess.
I think this is a more complicated question than it first appears. Or maybe everything just seems more complicated on a Monday morning. *g*
My initial response was, "Hello? Living in the land of earthquakes, mudslides and civil unrest, here!"
I spent part of my last birthday on the pier at Santa Cruz, having lunch and shopping...in the middle of a Tsunami warning. So, obviously, I'd stay right where I am and continue to live life to the fullest.
But then I got to thinking and I remembered that I have never understood the mindset of people who were living in the path of an natural disaster, who received warnings that the hurricane, the volcanic eruption, the deadly whatever was imminent and yet stayed put, did nothing about it and died.
I guess it all boils down to this: Do you feel lucky? lol!
Seriously though, if I were to receive a warning that something bad could happen in a certain place on a certain date (and I believed the warning--very important!) I think I'd make plans to be out of town that weekend. Otherwise...nah.
I don't think the where and when part is the important part of the world ending. I think the important part is what you do with the time you have while you have it. Any day, any minute, any second could be the last. Live life to the fullest every second of every day.
Debra - I feel the same way. You put it very well, thanks!
PG - You make a good point. I guess I'm not sure if I believe the warning. For us to be underwater, a massive cataclysm would have to take place. I'm not sure anywhere would be safe!
Meg - I agree, the Y2K non-event made me question a lot of those dire warnings. But it's eerie getting a personalized warning. Shiver!
I guess I'm with Deb on this one... I could get hit by a bus tomorrow too! *g* I think it's important to make every day count and to somehow, someway make your dreams come true now just in case there is no tomorrow.
Erin
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