Caught up in the rapture . . .

Last week on a trip into the city with my daughter, a young man was speechifying and passing out pamphlets prophesying the end of the world on May 21, 2011.  I'd heard some guy was proposing this, but not why, so I was curious.  There is a "logical" way that this Judgement Day had been calculated--if you believe in a particular translation of the scriptures.  As we said way back when I was a kid, Big Whoop.

But another question has been nagging at me, particularly since I'm more of a 2012 girl myself.  Why are we all so fascinated by the end of the world?  Long before Harold Camping came along, we humans have been speculating about a worldwide dirt nap, even if we are only considering the fate of the humans on the planet.  Why do people tend to go a bit berserk any time the world is supposed to come to a halt? 

Here's a true story:  My mom had a friend who was obsessed with Y2K.  She swore it was, if not the end of the world, the end of the world as we knew it.  She stored food and water and bought whatever supplies Y2K survivalists suggested.  She even bought a solar stove or some such so that she could provide sustenance should all electrics and electronics fail . . .

And two weeks before the new year she dropped dead.

Let's face it, life on this planet is 100% fatal.  No one gets out alive.  No matter what faith you are, or if you have no faith, or you believe Jesus is showing up tomorrow to lift you up to heaven, or not, the fact is most people live their lives as if they have all the time in the world.  We procrastinate.  We put off going after the job or love or lifestyle we want because we are afraid we'll fail or others will think poorly of us.  We'll get to it one day, or now is not the right time or I'll wait until . . . (fill in whatever answer suits you).  So the idea that a day might come when someone with the power of ultimate judgement over us--and the power to reward or punish--can be a bit daunting.  

It reminds me of the Albert Brooks movie Defending Your Life, in which Brooks' character goes to the afterlife but must prove he's moved beyond his petty fears or be forced to return to Earth for another incarnation.  Brooks eventually shows the courage he needs to prove himself worthy.  How do our actions stack up with what we should have said or done if we were following our higher selves instead of our lower ones?

So maybe the takeaway from all this hoopla ought to be to quit putting off living our lives the way we want to live them.  Start that project, speak that truth, hug a loved one, right a wrong, forgive a grudge--or whatever has been holding us back from being the authentic, happy, fulfilled people we were born to be.

What have you been putting off that you could start today?  If it's a writing project, check out my goal setting worksheet here.