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December 2012 ~ The End of the World As We Know It?
December
2012 ~ The End of the World As We Know It?
There has been a lot of press about the "end" of the Mayan
calendar. Supposedly, the Mayan calendar ends on December 21, 2012 and,
therefore — according to the stories and movies I’ve seen — our world will be
ending. 
Does anyone believe this? Really???
That some group of folks many years ago could predict to pinpoint accuracy that on a single day in the very distant future when the world will end. I don’t think so!!! I haven’t yet seen anyone’s predictions about anything with exacting accuracy.
The Mayans were brilliant people, no doubt. We have climbed the pyramid at Chichen Itza and visited many other ancient Mayan sacred sites in the Yucatan. They are spectacular and obviously built by very smart and competent people. We are not Mayan scholars so cannot attest to the accuracy or validity of any Mayan calendar or anyone’s interpretations of them. We have to take on faith that some very smart people can read all those symbols to come up with a calendar.
From our perspective, it seems like us humans like to "create" drama in our lives and we like to "deadlines" to help us focus our energy and attention.
So, we can use the collective focus this year on "the end of the world as we know it" to decide what WE want in our lives as we re-create our world for a future that we want. We have a blank slate for 2013 and beyond, to create a life the way we want it to be. We can let go of the "old" calendar, the "old" ways, the "old" stuff and start fresh. We can create our own brand new future in any way we wish.
The focus of attention on the ending of the Mayan calendar is a good thing. It helps us to collectively come together in a new way, to set new goals, to decide how we want our world to be — unbound by someone’s ancient prophecies or beliefs, and the dreary history of what was done before.
In December each year, we have traditionally written our monthly newsletter article about "Fun in the Workplace" so we will try to bring in some humor to what could be a very scary situation if we believed our world was really going to end in a few weeks.
On the other hand, if our world did really end, what would happen? According to most religions, if the world ended, we would go to "Heaven" or "Nirvana" or "the Afterlife" or "Ascension" or a "Higher Place" — not a bad place to be according to all accounts. So why be afraid?
If the world did come to an end, we would no longer have to worry about the mortgage, our job, our boss, the time clock, the missed deadlines, the bad economy, the moldy cheese in the refrigerator, our kids, our bills, our frustrations, our unfulfilled hopes and dreams, that nasty neighbor or our crazy in-laws. And we wouldn't have to worry about Christmas shopping this year!! It would be all over. So why be afraid?
Our friend, Shepherd Hoodwin, wrote a delightful book called Enlightenment for Nitwits: The Complete Guide to 2012 & Beyond. He pokes fun at everything in his own very unique way and this little book has given us many hours of laughter and joy.
Shepherd writes this about the Mayan Calendar:
Someone asked me to channel about why the Mayan Calendar ended in 2012. Doreen explained that it was because they ran out of paper. The kind they favored, with a row of little holes across the top, was hard to find — they hadn’t yet discovered OfficeMax.
Of course, in our culture, we only print our calendars a year in advance. The reason they decided to do their entire future calendar at once was that the printer offered them a 15% discount.
Another factor was that the official calendar featured the Sacrificial Virgin of the Month. Since there were not enough of them to have a unique one every month for the foreseeable future, they dressed them up in a variety of costumes. With changes in make-up and lighting, you couldn’t tell the difference. However, when the shamans went into trance to foretell what Sacrificial Virgins would be wearing each year, they were stumped when they got to Project Runway. It was like the Native Americans who couldn’t see Columbus’ ships because they had no frame of reference. Rather than publishing a calendar that might have out-of-date fashions, and considering the paper situation, they decided to cap it at 2012.
To Shepherd, nothing is sacred and he pokes fun at everything and anything in his book. Please take this article in that vein and don’t be offended by anything we write — it’s all meant in fun.
On a more serious note, we suggest that our readers do think about their future for a few minutes this month — setting the intention for happiness and joy in whatever you are doing next year.
And we remind ourselves again of this quote from Steve Jobs:
For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.
We wish you a joyful December and know that happiness is possible for everyone — no matter what anyone else’s calendar says.
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Internet Resources
- Mayan calendar (public domain images) – from http://baktun.org/maya-tales-history-culture/index.php/2009/01/mayan-and-aztec-calendars/
- Cartoon about the Mayan calendar – from http://bizarrocomic.blogspot.com/search?q=2012+mayan+calendar
- Another cartoon http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/non_aviation/read.main/2394345/
- The Mayan Calendar - Predicting the End of the World? http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/mayan.html
- What is the Mayan Calendar? http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-mayan-calendar.htm
- The End of the World in 2012 Mayan Calendar Predictions (Youtube) http://theendingworld.com/tag/2012-mayan-calendar-vieo-humor/
- Have a Mayan sense of humor, 2012 not the end http://www.thelantern.com/opinion/have-a-mayan-sense-of-humor-2012-not-the-end-1.1008076
- Listen to a recording of The Strangest Secret on Mark Victor Hansen's website http://www.markvictorhansen.com/strangest_secret.php (includes biography of Earl Nightingale).
- The Strangest Secret by Earl Nightingale (audio recording & transcript) ISBN-13: 978-9562914093
- On Steve Jobs and Unashamedly Loving Your Work http://www.businessweek.com/management/on-steve-jobs-and-unashamedly-loving-your-work-10072011.html
Books - Disclosure:
We get a small commission for purchases made via links to Amazon.
- Enlightenment for Nitwits: The Complete Guide to 2012 & Beyond. Shepherd Hoodwin. Summerjoy Press, 2011. ISBN-13: 978-1885469120 (very funny!)
- Mayan Calendar Prophecies, Part 1: Predictions for 2012 and Beyond. Gary C. Daniels. The RealMayanProphecies.com, 2012. ASN: B009GB9JB0:
- Income Without a Job: Living Well Without a Paycheck. Michael Jay Anthony, Barbara J. Taylor. Lulu.com, 2008 ISBN-13: 978-0-557-00377-8. Website: www.income-without-a-job.com. Tap into your own creativity and use your full potential. Learn how to see opportunities that others miss.
Articles
Related newsletter article:
November 2011 ~ The Pinball Effect: How
to Create Happiness
About our resource links: We do not endorse or agree with all the beliefs in these links. We do keep an open mind about different viewpoints and respect the ability of our readers to decide for themselves what is useful.
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