December 22, 2012
Good Morning, “The Day After”
Well, it’s the day after when the world was supposed to end and we’re still here. I’m pretty sure there are a number of people who are disappointed right now (probably the same ones that gathered in 1999) and hopefully many more who are relieved. I for one am happy to see tomorrow and the next and the next. There is still much more to do and not that many marbles left in the jar. So every day is becoming a bit more valuable and I am starting to scrutinize how I spend them.
I have a fair amount of respect for the Maya as one of the great Mesoamerican cultures. But, actually, there was nothing in the Mayan Calendar to say that it was
the “end of the world”. Even Yuri Knorozov, the person most instrumental in deciphering the Mayan Hieroglyphs has said that December 21, 2012 was only the ending of the 14th Baktun and the beginning of the 15th. A Mayan Baktun is made up of 144,000 days. So, welcome to the 15th Baktun for the next 143,999 days, even if it is off the calendar. Maybe the Conquistadors were responsible for the absence of more Baktuns since Mayan hieroglyphs ended shortly after their arrival. The reasons for that is pretty much the same as for the Aztec and Inca demise.
So why this fascination with the end of the world? Is it possibly that some view it as a panacea for all the troubles we keep getting ourselves into. The final judgment when we will have to answer to our maker. An absolute solution to rid the world of the unrighteous. To me it is kind of like “throwing the baby out with the bathwater”. After all, how do you know you are righteous without the unrighteous.
I for one happen to like our little unique planet and being here. Sure its not perfect and with imperfect people populating it, it will never be. As long as we succumb to the human frailties of the seven deadly sins, we will be mired in our own muck.
I consider nature to be perfect and all of the rest of the species flora and fauna in it. There is no real need for us to be here and I’m pretty sure everything else would be better off without us. We tend to be the ones that mess things up, create an imbalance and end up knocking over the dominos. But “it is what it is” and we are stuck with it for our given time here.
Let’s honor your fellowman and our Mother Earth. We will be the better for it.
Love, Dad