Normally I wouldn’t want to interrupt everyone’s holiday festivities to discuss something as sobering as the potential end of the world. However, given that it is just a few days away now, and damn near everybody and their brother has posted something, I reckon I probably should as well. Definitely not an attempt to be like everybody, just more like a covering my rear thing.
Just in case, right?
That being said, I do not actually believe that the world is coming to an end for two distinct reasons. The first as a man of science. The ancient Mayans used a Long Count Calendar, similar to an odometer in a car. It’s a modified base-20 system wherein digits rotate through. As they rotate, the calendar can roll over. This is key.
Under Mayan theology, the world was created 5125 years ago. Using a modern calendar, the date would read August 11, 3114 BC. At that point, the Long Count Calendar read: 13.0.0.0.0
On December 21, 2012, the Long Count Calendar will also read: 13.0.0.0.0
Nothing in the Mayan beliefs states that an sort of destruction will occur once the date “rolls over.” The complete opposite in fact. Many believed that the gods who created the world would return to conduct old rites of passage, to set space and time in order, to regenerate the cosmos.
In essence, the world would be replenished, not destroyed.
The second reason I think we will all still be here this weekend is as a man of faith. Believe me, I fully understand how derisive religion can be, so I have no interest in using this platform to peddle any belief system. All I will say is that after God flooded the world, He promised Noah that he would never again do such a thing.
I believe Him.
In the event that both of these beliefs are misguided and everything comes screeching to a halt on Friday…I’m actually okay with it. True, I’ve never gotten married and had children or done a myriad of other traditional things along life’s path, but I like to believe I have lived more in my three decades than most have in twice that.
I’ve had an amazing family, fantastic friends, wonderful colleagues. I’ve seen the sun rise from above the cloud line, stood on the lip of an active volcano, hiked the Appalachian Trail. Visited all fifty states, seen the world, experienced different cultures as a tourist and a local. Worked on ground breaking legislation in our nation’s capitol and provided medical care to refugees in the Caribbean. Gone jogging with elk, watched bison fight for supremacy, swam with sharks. Lived all over the country, tried every food under the sun, attempted to sing and dance and strum guitar even when I wasn’t any good at them. Collected more crazy stories and battle scars than is probably safe or advisable.
Stayed up late. Woke up early. Held my newborn niece. Watched my parents provide the blueprint for a successful life and marriage. Been fortunate enough to have my brother and C$, the two truest friends I could have asked for.
Most people always talk about the things they should do or would like to get to at some point. I guess, in a nutshell, I’ve always prided myself on being the guy who actually does them. I freely admit there are a host of things I would have done differently. If someone has wronged me it is long since forgiven and if I’ve wronged them, I can only hope they feel the same.
But if Friday really is it, then can I honestly say, per usual…I regret nothing.
Just in case, right?
That being said, I do not actually believe that the world is coming to an end for two distinct reasons. The first as a man of science. The ancient Mayans used a Long Count Calendar, similar to an odometer in a car. It’s a modified base-20 system wherein digits rotate through. As they rotate, the calendar can roll over. This is key.
Under Mayan theology, the world was created 5125 years ago. Using a modern calendar, the date would read August 11, 3114 BC. At that point, the Long Count Calendar read: 13.0.0.0.0
On December 21, 2012, the Long Count Calendar will also read: 13.0.0.0.0
Nothing in the Mayan beliefs states that an sort of destruction will occur once the date “rolls over.” The complete opposite in fact. Many believed that the gods who created the world would return to conduct old rites of passage, to set space and time in order, to regenerate the cosmos.
In essence, the world would be replenished, not destroyed.
The second reason I think we will all still be here this weekend is as a man of faith. Believe me, I fully understand how derisive religion can be, so I have no interest in using this platform to peddle any belief system. All I will say is that after God flooded the world, He promised Noah that he would never again do such a thing.
I believe Him.
In the event that both of these beliefs are misguided and everything comes screeching to a halt on Friday…I’m actually okay with it. True, I’ve never gotten married and had children or done a myriad of other traditional things along life’s path, but I like to believe I have lived more in my three decades than most have in twice that.
I’ve had an amazing family, fantastic friends, wonderful colleagues. I’ve seen the sun rise from above the cloud line, stood on the lip of an active volcano, hiked the Appalachian Trail. Visited all fifty states, seen the world, experienced different cultures as a tourist and a local. Worked on ground breaking legislation in our nation’s capitol and provided medical care to refugees in the Caribbean. Gone jogging with elk, watched bison fight for supremacy, swam with sharks. Lived all over the country, tried every food under the sun, attempted to sing and dance and strum guitar even when I wasn’t any good at them. Collected more crazy stories and battle scars than is probably safe or advisable.
Stayed up late. Woke up early. Held my newborn niece. Watched my parents provide the blueprint for a successful life and marriage. Been fortunate enough to have my brother and C$, the two truest friends I could have asked for.
Most people always talk about the things they should do or would like to get to at some point. I guess, in a nutshell, I’ve always prided myself on being the guy who actually does them. I freely admit there are a host of things I would have done differently. If someone has wronged me it is long since forgiven and if I’ve wronged them, I can only hope they feel the same.
But if Friday really is it, then can I honestly say, per usual…I regret nothing.
