The moment this issue of CULTURE hits the streets, we’ll be six days away from Thanksgiving, 37 days away from Christmas and 43 days away from New Year’s Eve.
But that’s not the countdown that I’m focused on. No, the countdown that I’ve got on the brain is the one that says—as I type these words—we’re 401 days away (and ticking) from Dec. 21, 2012.
I know what you’re thinking: Why is this guy bringing up crap about the supposed end of the world? Why all this apocalyptic gloom and doom? Why all this sky-is-falling talk? Why did they make that painfully horrible movie 2012 with John Cusack? (OK, you probably weren’t thinking this last question)?
But before you think I’m in bed with the Ancient Astronauts camp—perhaps a recap is in order.
According to some theorists, the Mayan calendar suggests/indicates that the world will end on Dec. 21, 2012. For some, the “end” will come all dressed up in its best Old Testament garb: earthquakes, floods, volcanoes, 40 years of darkness, dogs and cats living together—you get the picture. For others, the end will take the form of some cosmological cataclysm; maybe the Earth will get sacked by an asteroid or get sucked down a black hole’s gullet or (personal fave) get sent back to the Stone Age after the planet’s electromagnetic poles shift and wreak havoc on every scrap of technology we’ve got.
You know what I think? Bullcrap.
I think that when Dec. 21, 2012 rolls around, what’s gonna happen is . . . nothing. There’ll be a new day, another tomorrow. Just like the last time we entertained the-end-is-near fears. Remember when we switched over from 1999 to 2000? Remember Y2K? The prosecution rests.
Now, I’m not crapping on people’s New Age beliefs or apocalyptic convictions just to be an ass (OK, maybe I am just a little).
All this 2012 stuff is relevant. I bring it up now because we’re one year closer to our deepest fears. We’re one year closer to uncertainty. We’re one year closer to . . . a big unknown. And that, all by itself, is scary enough.
And that’s the point. No one knows when the world is gonna end or if it’s even gonna end. No one knows when we’re going to breathe our last breath and say our final goodbyes to our family and loved ones. So we need to start acting as if this is our last day, our last week, our last month—whatever—on Earth.
For many of us, Thanksgiving is around the corner. As patients, as doctors, as cultivators, as activists, what are we prepared to be thankful for?
If we knew there was no tomorrow, how would we act today? What would we do? How would we treat each other? Christmas and Hanukah are coming up and do they make us think about miracles, spiritual things and giving to others—or are we just focused on hitting the malls?
Big questions, I know, but they are questions that our community—and everyone, really—should be asking ourselves more than once a year or once in a lifetime.
Sure, the past couple of months have been interesting and challenging, but just for a moment, let’s pretend, lets imagine that we really only have 401 days left. Let’s re-focus on our goals, our struggles, our mission. Let’s focus on our lives, our health, our rights. These are the things worth thinking about, worth fighting for—not any vague, intangible fears about Armageddon.
There will be a tomorrow. Yes, even after Dec. 21, 2012. Count on it.
From CULTURE, I wish you a Happy Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa!
