The LA Times has an article today about TEOTWAWKI: The End of the World As We Know It.

The predictions range from the benign — that this will be a year of spiritual breakthrough, the beginning of a new era of nonviolence and sustainability — to the worst sort of disaster movie cataclysm. And the Maya calendar is just the start. A hodgepodge of other theories has sprung up around the same date.

 

There are groups who claim that an uncharted, unseen planet called Nibiru will strike Earth or nearly hit it; that the Earth’s polarity will reverse (so that north is south and south is north), wreaking widespread havoc; or that solar storms will destroy civilization by disrupting power grids. Most of the predictions are timed to coincide with the “end” of the Maya calendar on Dec. 21, the winter solstice.

The reason the whole Mayan nonsense resonates, of course, is that we all have a sneaking suspicion we really are at a fin-de-siècle. That we really are approaching the end of the world. That we’re all going to die, undoubtedly in some horrible, purely painful and torturous fashion, and there’s nothing we can do about it.

Global warming is real and we may be past the tipping point. Mussolini had a term for governments run by corporations. We’ve had nine years of the Bush tax cuts and all of those job creators have given us a 9% unemployment rate. (And, as my Dad used to say about Hollywood stars and their reputed ages, that number is what they’re admitting to. And didja notice the unemployment rates back in 2001? Good times.) And let’s not even talk about health care.

On the other hand…what this means is that there’s no better time to try new things. Because if things are only going to get worse, this is the time to do that thing you’ve always wanted to do, people.

A really great quotation I like to reflect on from time to time comes from Dr. Howard Thurman:

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

Which means whatever you choose to do this year, do it because it makes you feel great. Because it puts you in the moment. Don’t do things that you have to hide or that you’re ashamed of.

It’s also important to recognize that each of us cannot solve all of the world’s ills. Whenever I start to think about the magnitude of the problems out there, I get completely paralyzed. I can really only make changes in how I behave, and hopefully if I feel strongly enough about the problem and possible solutions I can inspire other people to do something about what they care about.

Like Peak Oil. Worried about Peak Oil? Want to stop participating in so many fossil fuels being used? You don’t need to buy a Prius (not much of a solution, actually, given that it takes fossil fuels to make a car), although I will never speak against riding a bicycle everywhere. The first thing you have to realize is how much fossil fuel production goes into food production. Solution: buy local and eat vegan. Most people won’t do these things, of course, because that would mean they were suffering in comparison to the abundance they have now. (Fresh tomatoes and strawberries in December!)

But even if something like Peak Oil works your mind too hard (I certainly get depressed at the idea), you’re better off spending a little time every day doing something, anything, that makes you feel more alive, more connected, more creative is a good idea. That sort of thing will resonate more than spending one more damn minute worrying about something you’re not able — or willing — to do anything about.

And that’s my main resolution for 2012.