I find it amusing that my entry "So the apocalypse has
begun..." generated nearly three times as many views as my entry on the
Supreme Court ruling regarding gay marriage. This says quite a bit, I think,
about my present, albeit so far small audience. An interesting speculation
considering that I have in the past year systematically, both directly and
indirectly, isolated my conservative peers in favor of more liberal thinkers.
The fact of the matter is that my separation from my husband a year ago has spawned
a reflective year in which I looked inward to see exactly what stuff I am truly
made of. It turns out, there is more liberal (though I prefer to think of it as
more humanitarian) matter in there than conservative (what I prefer to think of
as more judgmental, intolerant, narrow-minded and unyielding) matter. I still
believe in God, and I believe there is a moral code that we should strive to
abide by (a sort of striving to be the best possible version of ourselves that
we can be), but I do not believe that cutting down others in an effort to
highlight our strengths is the best way to interact with others. Instead, we
should seek to highlight the strengths we find in our fellow man versus seeking
to find fault with them.
That said, I have spent the day today writing a great deal
on my thesis, which focuses on apocalyptic narratives, particularly as they
relate to contemporary fiction (literature and film). Like the bulk of my
audience, end times scenarios fascinate me. I believe someday this world will
come to an end. Also like my audience, I am intrigued by the various theories
out there posited by researchers and fanatics alike as to how and when this
great event will happen. In my opinion, plausible theories include solar
activity, massive natural disasters and pandemics (all theories discussed
within my present research and writing on the topic), while less plausible
theories include anything specifying an exact date like December 21, 2012.
Obviously that day came and went without incidence.
In the course of my research, I learned a great deal about what the
Mayans did and did not predict (and I assure you that they did not predict the
end of the world - which was never their intent in the first place). In the
course of my writing today, I learned that time flies when you are focused on
something like writing or work. Before I knew it, it was almost 6 pm and my son
was complaining that he was hungry, while I was noting that it wasn't dinner
time yet (though, to my great surprise, it was almost exactly that). Turns out,
the stomach of a child has a better sense of telling time than a busy mother or
an ancient calendar for that matter. My point? We spend the entire day most
days working, focused on something. When we're not working . . . when we're not
focused on something (even if it's just how bad the damn traffic is while we're
commuting home), we're on our cell phone, or playing video games, or watching
TV (and arguing with the TV as though it could hear us), or doing a series of
other activities. Exactly how much time do we spend with our children, or
enjoying nature, or embodying love? Only four people cared what I thought about
the Supreme Court's decision regarding gay marriage, while nearly three times
that many cared what I thought about the apocalypse (when in fact I never even
made mention of what I thought until now). The end will come someday. We might
be dead already when it does. What will we be able to say about our lives when
our end does come? That we worked ourselves to death? That we broke the
Guinness World Record for fastest texting? Or that we found love and learned how to
love? That we went hiking and saw what it was like to be above the fog instead
of below it (a kind of cool vision if you ever get the chance)? That we were
the best possible version of ourselves that we could be for ourselves, our
children and for others?
We all have to work. That is a given. We have to work, we
have to be stuck in traffic sometimes, we have to cook dinner, we have to make
phone calls and send text messages . . . we all have to do all of these things.
However, as the popular cliche states, sometimes we need to also remember to
stop and smell the roses.
As it turned out, my laptop forced me to stop and take my
own advice after writing much of the day - it crashed. My penchant for
excessively hitting the "save" button and backing everything up
proved most useful, so all hope is not lost . . . but it did cause a one-day
delay in the posting of this entry. I know, you're absolutely heartbroken :)
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