2012, Y2K, and Other Scary End Is Near Predictions

 

For the last year, I’ve had a lot of clients ask me about my opinion on 2012. In case you haven’t heard, there is some Mayan calendar that abruptly ends in December this year which has created a huge amount of speculation and fear.  

This apocalyptic prediction has clients bringing me questions such as:

“Why did the calendar end on that date?”  (Beats me.  Maybe they were tired?)

“Is the world going to end?”  (Nope.  See you in 2013!)

“Will there be a shift in consciousness?  Are people going to become enlightened?”  (Umm….three words for you:  Honey Boo Boo.)

I don’t profess to have all the answers but I’ll say this: I’ve seen these ominous alarms of world ending catastrophe before.  In fact, more often than I’d like. Let’s go back to the big Y2K drama.  Remember all those dire warnings of computers crashing and planes falling out of the sky?  It didn’t help people feel secure when you had celebrities like Pat Boone stoking that fear and adding a religious twist to it.

Many of my clients bought into this fear mongering and came to my office looking for reassurance.  

And many were surprised to see that I wasn’t worried at all.  It’s going to be the big “so what” I said.  “There may be a few glitches here and there but don’t bother stockpiling anything.  The world will go on.”

And it did.  The year 2000 came with barely a glitch.  Life did go on.

Every so often, another “end of the world” prophet steps forward and rings the alarm bell.  Last year, an elderly preacher started another big doomsday movement which came and went, but not without creating some serious panic (and ridicule: he claimed he miscalculated the date and gave a new one…which also came and went with less media attention this time).

Let’s face it, people have been predicting the end of the world forever.  I have no idea why they want to put that Chicken Little energy out there (to get attention?  to convert people?  trying to get their kids to behave?).

That fear based thinking is not only contagious but highly irresponsible as well because it can lead to a lot of impulsive and fear based decisions (I’ve heard of people ditching their jobs and not paying their bills because they assumed they didn’t need to if the world was ending!).  This causes potential pain, loss, anxiety and heartache (and don’t even get me started on how cruel I think this mindset is for children, who should be living with love and joy rather than panic).  And all of this drama can be prevented if people just tuned into their common sense instead.

Let’s be real for a moment: none of us can be sure when (or if) the world is going to end.  No mathematical calculation, no prophecy, no obscure ancient calendar is going to  give us a certain date.  In fact, these prophecies have been proven wrong again and again and again.

And as far as worldwide enlightenment happening on some arbitrary date?  Nope. Ain’t going to happen.  People are people and there are always going to be those who choose negative paths.  It’s part of human nature and just the way it is.  (I’m not trying to be a defeatist here, I’m being realistic.)  

You cannot just slam some date on a calendar and declare the end of the world – or the termination of human stupidity.  

My advice: rather than worry about some “doomsday prophecy”,  why not live your life today like it matters?  Why not be present in the NOW?  Instead of flipping out over the possibility of dying in some fiery comet (or other fantastical ending) why not just LIVE WELL?  And rather than waiting for some random date on a calendar to become enlightened, why not strive to be a better person TODAY?

It’s simple really:

Take care of the earth and each other.

Practice compassion.

Treat each moment as sacred.

Make conscious decisions.

Think before you open your mouth.

Hug your loved ones.

Be grateful.

Forgive.

Tell the truth.

Laugh often.

Let go.

BREATHE.

Don’t let some arbitrary date made up by some so called prophet or fearmonger dictate the course of your life.  Instead, behave now as if this moment matters.  Because it really does.

“Whether you’re a brother or whether you’re a mother,

You’re stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive.

Feel the city breakin’ and everybody shakin’,

And we’re stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive.”  ~ Bee Gees

Blessings!

Theresa

image courtesy of TaoxProductions