We’ve been here before.
From Heaven’s Gate to Y2K, from the Jupiter Effect to
Jehovah’s Witness, from Zombieland to The Terminator; history is dotted by
(often absurd) examples of doomsday prophecies.
And so (insert yawn here) this Friday, once again the world
is coming to an end.
What’s interesting, though, is the insanely wide range of
reactions people have had to this piece of news.
At one extreme are the Preppers, folks who have decided that
the world will end, and they will be prepared; no ands, buts, or ifs.
Preppers stock up on food for months, hone survival skills and fortify their
houses for the off-chance of, let’s say, a zombie apocalypse.
On the other end of the spectrum, meanwhile, are the people
who have decided that the Apocalypse is a great opportunity to party the night
away (“hey, it is the end of the world after all!”). Flyers abound for such
merry doomsday get-togethers from those thoughtful nightclubs.
-__-"
But maybe I’m being a little too hard on them. After all, at
the very least they’re doing
something at the face of imminent widespread death and destruction.
What about the rest of us?
Most, I guess, lie in the “I don’t give a rat’s gluteus
maximus” category.
The average person shrugs dismissively: “what will be, will
be”
We don’t know and/or care that the world will one day come
to an end.
Here’s an epic line from Tuesdays
With Morrie which I want to quote at this point, said by the author’s dying
professor:
“Everyone knows they’re going to die…but nobody believes it. If we did, we would do things differently.”
Because here’s the first painful, blindingly obvious truth:
You will die one day.
You can die a thousand years old (if those medical journals
are to be believed), or you could die an hour old.
You could die as heroically as being hit by a bus after
pushing a child out of the way, or as embarrassingly as slipping in the toilet
and breaking your neck.
You could die as spectacularly as a soldier in a hail of
bullets, or as quietly as an old man on his deathbed.
Which brings me to the second painful, blindingly obvious
truth: you don’t know when (and how) you will die.
Yes, the world will end one day (third painful, blindingly
obvious truth).
But when it comes down to it, does it really matter when?
You could very well die tomorrow, with the world going on
its business as usual.
In the end, the question (addressed to myself as well), is
this:
Have we prepared enough for that personal doomsday of ours?
Will you face Death and say: “I am not afraid”?
Will you look back at your life and say: “I have spent it
well”?
And will you look ahead to the hereafter and say: “I am
ready”?
For myself, to all those questions, my answer right now is
“No”. And I want to change that by becoming a better person everyday.
I am young and naïve; but I think that’s an aspiration we
should all share.
And hey, it’s not too late; the world hasn’t ended yet. ;)
[The time of] their account has approached for the people, while they are in heedlessness turning away. (21:1)
