2012

In the chit-chat brain-picking sessions that I usually have after a reading, I've had quite a number of people ask me my thoughts on 2012. The old cynic in me says, "Ah, Phooey" to this kind of stuff. Don't let the whole psychic medium thing fool you! I am quite the skeptic. I think it's all in our best interest that we don't absorb every idea that we hear like a sponge. As the Buddha says, "Believe nothing . . . unless it agrees with your own common sense."

Here are the most popular theories:

1. Many people believe that 2012 means the end of the world, and they base this on the Mayan calendar. According to the long count calendar's measurements, December 20/21/23 (depending on who you ask) marks the end of this world. According to the Mayans, this is actually the fourth world, meaning there have been three human-like (i.e. a planet, peoples, civilizations, etc.) existences and periods of time before this one.
2. Other people just seem to love the idea of an apocalypse and seem to be fine with it occurring in 2012. They're the people who are always preaching about the end of the world and seem happy to jump on a bandwagon that agrees that the world is indeed ending soon. Hey, why not? 2012 is catchy, no?
3. Then there's the New Age belief that 2012 is the beginning of a new era in human history, a positive shift in physical and spiritual transformation. This belief sees 2012 as the crumbling of traditional archetypes and systems (i.e. organized religion, big government) and a revitalization of these systems that will create a new order.

If I have to choose between these theories, I go with C. It seems apparent to me that there's been a lot of disintegration of old systems in these past few years and that the state of the world is in a lot of distress. It seems plausible that we are on the brink of a new era. Then again, I can think of many times in history where the world as people knew it seemed to be ending (1860's, 1920's, 1940's, 1960's). So that's why I say that if I have to choose one, this is the one I'm going with.

The skeptic in me has to question the hoopla of all of this. You have to ask yourself the question, who benefits from a belief that 2012 is the end of the world? Well, I think we can see that a lot of people are making a lot of money off the idea. If you look at the search results on 2012 on amazon.com, you'll see that many people have published their ideas on the topic. There's also a big movie coming out sure to pull in millions. There's a countless number of authors, scientists, and entertainers who can become relevant by putting an idea out there.

The end of the world has universal appeal. It's something every one of us should theoretically care about, so any writing, speaking, or acting on the topic is sure to get a wide audience.

So here's the question that I've let guide my response to the idea of 2012 as the end of the world: If it's true that 2012 is the end of the world, what would I do about it?

And the answer, in short, is nothing. I live my life trying to be the best human being possible, taking care of my family, and trying to help others. So would I do anything differently if someone said the world was going to end in 2012 or any other time for that matter? No.

Also, I can't help but think that our time is never guaranteed. I could get hit by a bus tomorrow. I could choke on my angel hair pasta at dinner. Who says I'll be around in 2012 anyway? Let's not count our chickens before they hatch, ya know?

So I want to shoot that question back at you, reader. If 2012, 2010, or tomorrow were the end of the world, would you be doing anything differently? If the answer is yes, then you got some splainin' to do! (Yes, I just made a Lucille Ball reference while talking about 2012. mmmhmmm)