Apocalypse 2012: My Thoughts (Book Review Part II)

You may have heard about the movie 2012, scheduled to come out in November. Here is the trailer. Yesterday, I summarized the book Apocalypse 2012, by Lawrence E. Joseph, which explains his research into the various dangers currently facing us and how they seem to culminate and point (along with ancient teachings) to 2012 as a very dangerous time for our planet. In particular, 12/21/2012. Other than the topic, I don't think the movie and the book are related.

Today I wanted to offer up my thoughts after reading the book. As I write this, I just finished the book a couple of days ago, so I have not been able to reflect on it for very long. But, I can offer my first reactions and thoughts so far.

I would also like to note that I am not saying that I believe that the world will end in 2012. In reviewing the book, my intent was to discuss a topic that is becoming more talked about as the date nears. Undoubtedly, it will continue to do so as the date draws near.

My first reaction to this book is one of awe. It is so amazing that life here on Earth has even happened. It really takes the perfect conditions at the perfect time and whether you believe it just is or that God made it, it is fantastic and awesome and amazing just the same. With so much out there in space floating around and how powerful the sun can be and how sensitive the Earth can sometimes be to changes in its environment, it is amazing that humans have made it this far at all.

As I have spent the last four years reading about climate change, the threat of peak energy and resources and now the sun and its power, as well as how the Earth works, how the solar system works, the advances that humans have made (Mayan discoveries, early Chinese discoveries, etc.), Industrial Revolution, mass plagues and diseases over time, I have learned so many fascinating things. And I have come to have an active appreciation of life on Earth and all that we enjoy today.

I have had this sense of impending doom for a while now - it has gotten a lot stronger since late 2008 (maybe the economy has something to do with it). While it is incredibly difficult to imagine our way of life dramatically changing, I am not so arrogant nor naive to believe that we are immune to chaos and destruction. Or that our way of life is somehow protected or untouchable. Nature's forces are most powerful, for sure. Just ask anyone who has survived a natural disaster. Not to mention those who perished in one.

So, Apocalypse 2012 did sort of tie things together for me. A lot of the things I have been reading about sort of came together into one comprehensive argument and instead of wondering which thing could get us first, I started to see how a lot of what we face is interconnected and could all come to a head at once. That helped things me make more sense or at least see possibilities of all the things I have learned over the past few years coming together.

Do I think the world will end in 2012? I can't imagine how anyone could know the answer to that. I do feel that we face such tremendous challenges that it is very difficult to imagine how we will be able to navigate through each one without significant damage, much less no damage at all. And I have respect for ancient cultures who were not plugged into so much information that they may have been more open to divine wisdom than we are today. When is the last time something divine was written down? It has been a while (as in hundreds of years, really).

It is uncanny how spot on some of the predictions from that time have been. Even more disturbing is how so many ancient texts and teachings are pointing at 2012 as the "end" or time of great change. Add to it the scientific facts that we will be at a point of solar maximum, an unstable point in the Milky Way, with a climate nearly more overloaded with carbon and methane than nearly any other time and overdue for a major extinction (which seem to happen every 62-65 million years; we are at 65 million+), and you do end up with the feeling that someone is sneaking up behind you in a dark alley.

The author says that he finds it hard to believe that absolutely everyone and everything would be entirely wiped out. He says that as a father of two beautiful children, he is not capable of believing that everything will perish. He goes on to point out that end of time can mean the end of our current civilization. When the Roman Empire collapsed, people still existed. If, say, only 100 million people were left out of 6.5 billion, that would be a pretty major event, to say the least.

I can see all of this and turn around and see all of our man made challenges, too.  To toss up our need to correct things here and now in the belief that it will all be over soon seems foolish and cowardly.  In the end, I would say that we do face challenges and that we should take one thing at a time and do what we can to make a difference.

So where does all of this leave me?

As I turned the last page and closed the book, I thought to myself:

What would you choose to do if you knew you only had 3 years left?

For me, the answer is simple.

Enjoy my kids, spend time with family and friends, do fun things everyday,clean less, work less,smile and laugh a lot more. And pray more - in thanksgiving for what I have been given, for protection of my soul and for grace and for courage to face what lies ahead of me.

Regardless of what may or may not happen in 2012, or any other date for that matter, I am determined to live like my time here is short. Because no matter how old I will be when I die, life is short. And it is a great gift, meant to be enjoyed. And I will continue to be mindful and kind in the way I treat others because once my time is over I would like to find grace and peace in God.

In the end, none of us knows if we have one day, one year or 20 years left to enjoy. So we had better make the most of it.