Life: The End?
When I turn on the news I am bombarded with images
of death, destruction and national catastrophes. It truly feels
overwhelming. But I believe this is more attributed to sensory overload
than Ragnarök (Armageddon).
With a network of satellites beaming information
from across the world at an instant with the touch of a button puts the globe
in the palm of your hand. But as the saying goes
“For in much wisdom is much grief:
and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.”[i]
I try my best not to quote from religious texts such
as the bible but sometimes it works. But back to my main thesis.
We get all the good and the bad information at the
same time. Floods in Australia, Nuclear devastation in Japan, Forest
fires in California, Earthquakes in New Zealand. It becomes chaotic and
our minds try to make sense of this and conclude that there must be a
pattern. We proceed to play connect the dots on a global
scale and come up with the conclusion that the world must be ending.
Hollywood isn’t helping but they are in the business of entertainment and not divination.
The writers work in fiction not prophecy.
Before satellites put the world in your hand all we
knew was what happened around us. When we did get news from further away
it happened gradually. We had time to adapt to our own misfortune and didn’t
feel so burdened by the news from others. I don’t know if the world will
end tomorrow or on the morrow after that. All things die. I don’t
say this for the effect of being dark. Death is a part of life – as
oxymoronic as that may seem-. Mortal life is defined by the very fact
that it is finite.
But the human race is six billion strong and
currently the dominant species on the planet. So at least for the moment
it doesn’t seem like we’re going anywhere.
The human race for all intents and purposes is quite
young relatively speaking it’s time on this planet is but a drop in the ocean
of billions of years but we have the potential to look past the blinding
horizon. We defy our world and ourselves by pure tenacity and
stubbornness. We adapt, we modify, we conquer.
So even if the lord of bones is sharpening his
scythe and lurks just behind the corner with his three buddies waiting for some
cataclysmic event to happen we’re not going to give up that easily.
Electromagnetic radiation, fire, ice, boiling oceans
or burning skies I say BRING IT ON. Stack up for the Zombie Apocalypse if
you feel the need and learn a few forgotten skills such as hunting, tracking,
and maybe invest in a few self defense lessons.
Now for those who believe that the world will end in
2012 because the Mayans’ calendar ended there. Please remember that it’s
a calendar not a crystal ball. “But they were so advanced.” I hear you
say. So was Greece once upon a time.
NASA’s Voyager space probe has been operating for
over 34[ii] years and is
only now close to the outer rims of our solar system. Given the time
span, you’d think that should anything come our way we’d have ample warning
time. As for planetary alignment – we call these happenings an eclipse. Chances
are you’ve heard of them.
Now I can’t debunk every bible bumper’s theory of
how our imminent doom will come about but there’s no need to succumb to
defeatism.
Do whatever you feel you have to in order to feel
safe. While I doubt that the world will end anytime soon only a fool
would discount the possibility that it could. So as the good book says
DON’T PANIC[iii].
Come what may we’re here to stay.
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