The first day of winter. The winter solstice. And three years until “the end of the world as we know it.”
That means TV is filled today with programming about 2012. I’m now watching a two-hour piece on SyFy (which debuted Nov. 8th) that tries to summarize all the various theories and sources, with due deference to the nay-sayers, and add enough new stuff to make it seem like a different program.
It brings out comments from a host of people who have published a book about some aspect of the end of the world from their particular point of interest of expertise, but it still boils down to little more than a childhood argument of “yes it will;” and “no it won’t.” It’s almost impossible to argue definitively that something won’t happen or that something doesn’t exist.
The discussion gets a bit more real when it finally comes around to 2012 being the maximum in a current cycle of solar activity. Apparently the sun has never been this active during a time when so much of our civilization relies on technologies that could be impacted by something as natural as solar flares. Not much was said about this, but I’ve attempted to track what I think the ramifications of such events could be in “Scenarios.”
This program also gave consideration, as did the movie 2012, to government conspiracies: The major governments know something about the end and are keeping it hush-hush. (The Wall Street Journal had a great article a couple of days ago about conspiracy theories.)
Other than a few minor items, however, SyFy’s “2012: Startling New Secrets” didn’t add much to the debate that is worth making a decision “yea” or “nay” as to whether something is going to happen exactly three years hence.
Plan for your best future, no matter what
So I’ll go back to the supposition that it is possible to argue ad infinitum for or against TEOTWAWKI on Dec. 21, 2012 and, in doing so, take no action. It’s like spending all your time arguing whether karate or judo is the better form of self-defense rather than spending that time learning one or the other.
Instead of getting down to the nit-picking details of the various ideas about 2012, do this instead: Take actions that will benefit you and your family regardless of what happens on the fateful day in three years. Get your finances in shape. Get your bodies in shape. Have your family work together on a variety of beneficial projects. Form a close-knit circle of friends that your can trust with your life. Learn all kinds of stuff that you can use, and enjoy using, in day-to-day life.
Then, even if the worst doesn’t come to pass, you’ve gained immensely. If it does, you’ve gained even more.
Treat 2012 as a deadline for doing lots of neat stuff. If nothing bad happens, do lots more neat stuff even beyond that date. Who can’t take advantage of a cabin in the mountains in the good times? Who doesn’t want their debts paid off and gold and silver in their account? Who can’T enjoy spending quality time with their spouse and kids away from the impositions of our modern, high-tech society?
Even if Dec. 21, 2012 isn’t the end of the world as we know it, you can make it so for yourself — in all the best ways.