The End Is Nigh! (but you'll be fine)

This essay is inspired by many recent conversations with people who are genuinely fearful of the possibility of economic collapse, societal chaos, loss of personal resources and situations, possibly even the end of the world as we have known it in our lifetimes. As an unshakable optimist, I feel the need to articulate my perspective by taking a look at four facets of being a human being in these times.

1. History

A wide range of contemporary and historic predictions has created a subculture of those who expect and even look forward to the end of the world. Humankind has always has been fascinated by the idea of annihilation, whether from the impact of a large meteor, nuclear war, climate change, or as an adjunct to the coming of the messiah.

It is certainly understandable that a wide range of religious believers would see this time as marking the end of days. In fact, secular and scientifically oriented people are finding enough evidence in the everyday headlines to encourage their own visions of earth's destruction using logic and empirical evidence. For them, a divine mechanism is unnecessary for bringing about global destruction.

The Quran, the Old Testament and the New Testament each tell the faithful that the end of days will signal the final judgment of those who are good and those who are evil. The Hadiths (of Islam) tell us about the coming of the Imam Mahdi who will lead the way for the second coming of Isa (Jesus) and the ultimate embrace by mankind of the rule of God, known as the Last Hour. Christian and Jewish teachings mention nothing about the preliminary messenger of God (the Mahdi). But in all three major religious beliefs, the messiah comes to the world following a great battle between nations for the rule of God over the evil of Lucifer and man.

The three dominant religious belief systems don't have an exclusive hold on idea of the end of days. The Buddhist tradition looks to the coming of the next Buddha, Maitreya. And like the Buddhists, Hindus have a cyclical view of existence, making the end of days actually the beginning of a new cycle, more spiritually advanced than the last. The Mayan calendar's long count procession of time places the end of days at 11:11 a.m. on December 21st 2012. Like Buddhism and Hinduism, the Mayan end of the current epoch is followed by the beginning of a new and higher era of civilization.

Examples of predictions of the end are widespread and plentiful. Jehovah's Witnesses have predicted the end of the world as we know it since their founding. But after the continuation of normal life following the 1914 date predicted, the Witnesses ceased such predictions in public. They did not want to fall to the fate of the Millerites who predicted the end of world for October 22, 1844 - a day known to Miller's dispersed followers as The Great Disappointment. Edgar C. Whisenant, who wrote 88 Reasons Why The Rapture Could Be In 1988 - followed up with predictions for 1989, 1993, and 1994. Hal Lindsey wrote in The Late, Great Planet Earth that the end was linked to the formation of the European Union. Other notable western predictors of the end of civilization include Nostradamus, Edgar Casey and Sir Isaac Newton.

The idea of impending destruction is thrilling and electrifying to some. The thought of global catastrophe and annihilation gets the adrenalin-fueled fight or flight response rushing through the body and effecting the mind and emotions without the option of either fighting or fleeing. Such an endocrine surge pumps a moribund thrill through the believer, sometimes leading to enthusiastic exclamations that, "The End Is Nigh!"

The times and actions of man have managed to conjure a variety of seemingly sound reasons for such predictions of a final great destruction. Consider how it seemed to have World War I raging with tens of millions slaughtered needlessly only to be followed up by a brutal pandemic Spanish flu of historic ferocity. Think how the spread of the bubonic plague through Europe (several times) must have seemed like the horrific end of mankind, civilization and even the world. Many times in history it must have seemed that surely mankind was headed toward complete moral and ethical, if not material collapse.

Humanity has presented us with a consistent procession of predictions of the end of the world. Some catastrophic events have and will happen. The above examples are man made. And they have good company in many natural disasters that have been recorded in the past three millennia or so. But the march of mankind is resilient, to say the least, and we persevere.

2. Philosophy

Let's now look at the individual's approach to the idea of impending disaster, looming catastrophe and imminent demise. I am not interested in pacifying the concerned or painting a mollified picture of the challenges to come. My purpose is to consider the most constructive and balanced way to deal with both the idea and the reality of global change presenting itself to us daily.

Change of lifestyle and situation is generally uncomfortable. We all seek places, times and relationships in our lives where we have a balance of what we need and what we want. But it is true that the inevitability of change imposes new situations and choices on all aspects of life - emotional, financial, material, philosophical and spiritual. It is perhaps one of the great truths of human existence - and surely the most ironic - that change is the only constant situation in life.

It is a frequent and natural reaction to become anxious, worried and even fearful at change from outside our control. And the truth is that few circumstances of the world around us are actually within our individual control. The climate is changing. The financial structure is changing. Population pressures are creating serious depletions of the fundamentals of life. We've seen it coming for almost 40 years but complacent rationalization and willful ignorance has dominated our approach to living because we are fundamentally resistant to change.

In the 1970s the first relatively well developed computer models of the world were presented to academia at large. The closed system of our planet was modeled with a variety of variables based on current conditions and patterns. I can remember as an undergraduate student of geography that the models projected systemic collapse in at least one sector or another within the first decades of the 21st century. The models predicted that population pressures would create the collapse of available food and water systems. The economy, based on a model of continued growth within a closed system would collapse like any colony of bacteria in a Petri dish. The models predicted the climate would radically shift due to the pressures of industrial effluence on a massive scale combined with constant and growing extraction of a full range of natural resources.

As a young undergraduate, this seemed very far removed from the immediate experience of prosperity and plenty in 1970s North America. To say that the alarm bells were ringing in my head would be to overstate my reaction and to assign prescience where there was none. But now we are in the first decade of the 21st century and we are seeing many, if not all of the predictions coming to fruition in rapid succession and in dramatic fashion.

As unimaginable as these spectacular changes would have appeared to the average person in the recent past, the current multifaceted global shifts were foreseen by many, some of whom have espoused that they would spell the end of times. But history tells us otherwise. History tells us that rapid changes on this scale will indeed be disruptive from the individual level up to the world scale. But history, logic and reason also tell us that we - human beings - will survive.

In terms of physics, we exist in a vast and flowing sea of energies. About four percent of the energy we have measured is organized into visible matter and known energies. The remaining 96% seems to be composed of about three quarters dark energy and one quarter dark matter - each invisible and unknown. But whether it is visible or invisible, all known cosmic existence is connected, literally. Like a pond, the stone thrown in causes a ripple effect. In relation to ourselves, what we do effects those around us and continues to ripple out through our community, our society, our nation, the world and (I would argue) the universe. All things are connected to all things. Philosophy proposed this. Science confirms it. Religion gives it meaning.

Let me emphasize. You do effect those around you. In turn, those around you effect you. But they do not control you. You have the ability to direct yourself, even your reaction to those around you. You have the ability to control your response to changes and turmoil. To worry is to choose to stagger back into overwhelming anxiety about an unknowable future. Worry is a choice.

A more positive and fruitful response is to look at the present and plan for the future according to the known and real situation. When the future is something that can be directed by one's actions, then reasoned action is the proper response. Change the future with today's actions and thoughts when you can. Identify what is beyond your reach and let it go while keeping a close watch on how you are effected by circumstances. Always look to make changes that are to your and society's benefit together, when you can. An action based in fear and turmoil can only result in confirming further fear and turmoil for the actor and for those around the actor. Action based in love and balance will ultimately have positive repercussions.

The changes we are faced with right now are not under our direct control. We are being dashed about by the waves of this global sea. Avoiding the rocks and shoals is something that we can do (to some degree) but we cannot stop currents and the waves that push us. To extend the metaphor, we cannot overcome the power of this sea of change. We have to swim with the dominant currents and veer within the existing flow rather than fight it. By looking where we are being taken and working with what is known, we can mostly avoid being flung onto the immovable obstacles looming ahead. We can keep from becoming exhausted from fighting the unconquerable, and look forward to find the next safe direction.

So many people fall into the recurring mode of worrying about the future, feeling helpless about controlling anything and envisioning the worst-case scenario. Sometimes the worst does comes to pass. Most times it does not. In either case, you must deal with the situation as it exists now - in reality, not as you imagine it. Face it squarely and honestly. Don't find troubles where they are not. At the same time, don't fantasize that all with be rosy when there are obvious problems to be dealt with. It is not easy to find this kind of objective perspective. Being truthful and balanced with yourself when we are all, by nature, subjective and somewhat emotional, makes a clear view difficult to sort out of the clamor of everyday living.

But surely the most difficult anxiety to bear comes from worrying about a scenario that never comes into being. Worrying creates mental anguish and turmoil, even physical pain. It can generate stifling and paralyzing emotional energy directed toward something that does not and never will exist. To say it is a waste understates the deleterious repercussions of worrying. And those repercussions ripple out into those around us. We are all connected, whether you recognize it or are aware of it or not.

And yet, I can clearly hear those who are prone to worry say, "That's easy for you to say. But I am worried! And I can't help it." Although I know there are those who actually may not be able to keep from worry and depression due to mental imbalance, I am persuaded that the rest of us can direct our own thoughts if we choose to do so. We can direct ourselves. If we could not, then the idea of having free will would be meaningless.

I am reminded of Eckhart Tolle's discussions in The Power of Now where he talks of quieting the mind and allowing space for clear thinking without being overwhelmed by the constant turmoil of unorganized, directionless thought that we all experience. Tolle and many philosophers espouse that by quieting the mind, we are able to allow peace, clarity and balance to fill the quiet space. Such an open, focused and purposeful mind allows the divine energy and influence to occupy the willingly available mental, spiritual and emotional space with clarity, purpose and peace. But we must choose to let it happen and devote ourselves toward the purposeful discipline of prayer/meditation. Otherwise, the chatter of our everyday mind easily and consistently overwhelms the available option of clear and directed thought.

I am not suggesting that what I believe allows me to float uneffected through the vagaries of life with a beatific smile on my face. Metaphorically speaking, it is my experience that if one is standing in a pile of manure, it smells like poop. From a distance it has little odor. But with understanding and experience, along with an open mind, even standing in the pile of manure can reveal the potential of a rich fertilizer that nourishes growth. But it still smells like poop when you're in it.

As with doing the dishes and washing the laundry, problems and challenges in life will not stop coming each day into our lives. The dismissive cliché is to say, "It's not what happens to you but how you deal with it." I like the perspective of The Urantia Book, where it says, "Difficulties may challenge mediocrity and defeat the fearful, but they only stimulate the true children of the Most Highs." Life's experiences are the most profound lessons teaching us how to be a proper human being. Without challenges and afflictions, wisdom and integrity are difficult, if not impossible to come by in an individual. And each person will have a unique set of challenges and afflictions that form who they are.

3. Cooperative Action

Since most of us are not in a position to directly influence more than a very limited range of our living circumstances, our most effective efforts will be found in cooperation at the local level. Remember the slogan "Think Global. Act Local"? This is a practical and useful perspective for addressing the issues that may come to pass in the near future. It is apparent that some of these current international problems could freeze and collapse segments of the economy and other systems that will directly effect almost all of us.

Within each of our communities we collectively have a vast array of knowledge and experience about a wide range of subjects. Putting facts and knowledge to good use requires sharing them with others. Many a study has been written and many a model conceived to address cooperative action. But in each successful cooperative (voluntary) effort, a shared goal is fundamental to productive ends through practical means. Cooperative efforts to address community problems among our fellow citizens, within familiar environments, using the resources at hand is the most logical way to approach the potentially dramatic situations we may soon face.

It should be apparent, given the wealth of historic materials available to us in the twenty-first century that survival, progress and prosperity are not a function of the individual stockpiling, barricading and arming himself and his family. Rather, these things are a function of people working in a coordinated and mutually beneficial manner. And at this point in time we have a new resource for information available to us that has profoundly changed the potentials for cooperative effort. The Internet. Through sharing possibilities and experiences, we have the potential to bypass misdirected and fruitless strategies in favor of the tried and true.

Combining experiential expertise with community understanding, local cooperative efforts can and will address the future effectively. Look to federal governments to address national issues. Look to state governments to address statewide issues. Count on yourselves and your neighbors to address local and immediate issues. You may have no other choice.

The initiation, sustenance and success of any cooperative effort is leadership. Each ship must have a captain and with the captain a helmsman, lieutenants and sailors. Look for the captain who is a beacon of light. Look for the captain who appreciates and calls on the resources of others, not the one who says, "I know the way. Follow me!" The leader who illuminates the way with hope, love and respect is the one who will allow us to collectively come out the other side of any downturn, together. The ego-driven, charismatic leader will charm the community into one dead end after another. Failure is a near certainty with such a leader. With such a leader who has selfishly taken full authority, failure is catastrophic in its resulting dispersion of disillusioned followers.

Do not think that failure won't happen even in a well-oiled community effort. It can, does and will. The difference is that a balanced effort in the context of mutual respect, shared goals and love for our fellow citizens will result in a solid foundation on which to build the next effort. That next effort can pick right up and start without the delay of disillusioned factionalism - because there are no followers, only fellows.

Don't wait for enthusiasm that motivates from without. Recognize the need for action from within yourself and (should you not be willing to lead) look for the call to personal responsibility and collective effort. We can, have, and must work together in real and practical ways if we are to conquer the potential challenges of a global economy that has come to a screeching halt. We must do the same in the face of the unavailability of goods and services that could result. Most of the communities we live within have functioned perfectly well before the use of internal combustion engines, computer-based communications, corporate farming, and mass transportation. These things are not going to disappear overnight, even with the great shifts that seem poised to occur. Our resources will still be great but they will be very different from what we've become used to. We will need to be approach them intelligently, not nostalgically.

4. Spirituality

Finally, let me address the spiritual foundation that I believe genuinely and dependably facilitates strength and perseverance in the face of circumstances beyond the individual's control.

To this point we've looked at historical, philosophical and practical aspects of human response to widespread, dramatic change. This is all useful for the scientific and philosophical person as well as for the person of faith. Nobody is excluded from using these tools to deal effectively with changes that surround them. But the person who believes in the fundamental foundation of God has a significant addition to the toolbox that enhances the effectiveness of all other tools.

It is my belief that each of us is indwelt with a fractal of the divine source of all things, God. It is within us, literally. It is this fragment (possessing all aspects of its originator) that is the object of our turning inward to find answers, clarity and guidance in prayer/meditation. With genuine desire and purposeful action to reach toward the divine, the individual will receive what they need, in spiritual terms. Without that desire, we are each on our own. My experience tells me that it is the pattern of the universe to spiritually respond to sincerity and need. But without your permission, your genuine request, your free will cannot be interfered with and you will receive little or nothing.

It does not take much when considering our existence to recognize that there is much more to our world and the universe than we can really grasp at the human level. (Remember that part about 96% of the universe being "dark energy" and "dark matter?) After living in Alaska for ten years, I have a profound appreciation for the greatness of even earthly natural forces that effortlessly overpower human beings. To the materialist, extending that reality to a universe scale may seem an exercise in highlighting human insignificance. But to the faith believer, it properly places the individual within an interconnected creation, as a small but integral and influential part of a magnificent whole that is too vast to comprehend but divinely directed with love and compassion.

Such a perspective forces the recognition that the only practical and reasonable action an individual can have is based in personal responsibility and individual action directed toward the greater good. Faith is not allegiance to a particular creed or institution. It is the wholehearted devotion to living out the supreme ideals of the divine source of all things. Faith is between the individual and God only. The ideal manifests in unselfish service to our fellows, motivated by love and respect while recognizing the fragment of God that is a part of each of us. We are all, despite our differences, faith sons and daughters of God. He knows that. It is our responsibility to keep that view in the forefront. The results will be global.

When being buffeted about and having no control, our animal instincts kick in and panic is a common and natural response. But there is no place to which we can run and no foe to fight. So panic becomes an amplifier of turmoil rather than a survival tool. We grasp for and need balance. We look for a solid platform on which we can stand. But the immediate and pressing situation of sudden, unexpected and profound changes throws us way out of balance from our usual footing. Without the bigger cosmological picture of order and protection by an overarching divine care, we can feel both helpless and hopeless against the winds of change.

In the face of material turmoil, reliance on a foundation of divinity will seem to the materialist as grasping at straws to stay afloat. The true religionist cannot explain their confidence and resilience in terms of empirical proof or logical explanations. Religion is not a function of reason, but it is altogether reasonable and reliable for the religionist. Religion is not a function of logic. But the experience of religion is absolutely logical. Personal connection with the reality of divinity is an experience of profound truth that resonates to the eternal truths of the universe. For the believer, no thing can stand or has stood longer than the truth that God is the source of all things. No support is more unwavering than the truth of God as the spiritual protector of His children, ourselves.

To the religionist faith in the over control of divinity is entirely logical, even obvious. But such a faith may seem completely at odds with reality from the viewpoint of the scientist. The average scientist looks at the material creation and measures, weighs, sees, feels, touches, tastes and smells those things that are revealed to the senses and sensors. The advanced scientist then looks at the underlying structure and realizes that all these perceived things are no more than different organizations of energies. They realize that despite any appearances to the contrary, all is one. The true scientist inquires as to the source of these energies and comes to an empirical dead end.

To the religionist, the exploration of these deeper, more fundamental truths has just begun with the recognition of God as the source and center of all things. From this point, the religionist begins an unfathomable journey of continually revealed truth at ever higher levels, potentially, throughout eternity. In the prose of our day to day existence, the recognition of divinely poetic order becomes more apparent to those attuned to it. Within the context of tumultuous change the reality of ultimate order is in itself, sometimes enough to anchor the individual despite being subject to overwhelming and uncontrollable forces. To the tempered religionist there is an acquired, absolute conviction and surprising (at least from the outside) quiescence in the face of chaos.

This solidity is not a delusional mysticism that creates artificial retreats from the vagaries of life. This is the courageous ability to stand strong when others are bowled over. The sincere and balanced believer is not only able to consider within the safety of the mind, but to act boldly and positively in the face of substantial material barriers and opposition. True religion requires action. Understanding what to do and following through with righteous actions are the hallmarks of one who truly possesses a sublime connection of faith. Acting righteously, with love for all speaks with profound authority throughout all time. "Righteousness strikes the harmony chords of truth, and the melody vibrates throughout the cosmos, even to the recognition of the Infinite." (The Urantia Book)

Should you have any questions, or if you would like to comment on this essay, I welcome hearing from you by email. William H. Hays