2012 - Arrrrgh!

As it's the new year and 2012 at that, I thought I'd start with a rather cheerful post - the subject of 2012 itself, albeit, a little later than planned.  Some of you might be aware after reading my short story To Wander A Pale Sky in Tales From The Cafe: Vol 1 that I'm a bit of a dystopian fan. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not at all negative and most people who know me perhaps find me cheerful. But when it comes to writing - I love a good disaster.  I can't help it. It's an affliction that I was clearly born with (so don't blame my parents).

      With that in mind, I like to challenge my characters and throw some good old fashioned drama at them.  This is when stories get really interesting. Drama shows both a character's flaws, strengths and allows them to grow. And without challenges and growth you have no story.  Life is also like that of course and we as humans need a little bit of disaster to make us see what's really important and enjoy the good times.

      Now you might well ask...yes, but why are all these books and films out now so dark, and why do we all feed from all this negativity? Well, I guess it stems from the beginning of time. When humans became self aware and they sought answers about the world around them.  They asked, why are we here? For what purpose and is there anything else; anything out there, bigger than ourselves?  I think that when you become self aware you begin to look at life in it's entirety; that it has a beginning and end and everything in between is the journey; albeit a mixed one emotionally. So yes, life has an end and we, as a species have become a little obsessed with the end of the world scenario. Faced with the end, we are forced to look at ourselves and try to change for the better - whether or not we will die.

     There's no doubt that views are influenced by morals or religion; we all have our own take on this and everyone is different after all - no matter what science tells us. Believe me, I have had many late night philosophical debates with close friends; most of which end with, well you have your opinion and I have mine.  So we never really solve anything. The fact of the matter is - we just don't know...and that's the point; it's the not knowing that drives us...it makes us crazy. Humans by design have to challenge the world, understand and try to conquer it. We do whatever it takes to gain control of our life and destiny.  So maybe we create our own End Times - this is how it will end - the film says so doesn't it?

      So what if it doesn't end. Now, that would throw a spanner in the works, wouldn't it? We as individuals are of course going to die, it's biological (unless we cheat that with science one day) - but the universe, is still growing. Science tells us it might shrink but how do we really know for sure when there are new discoveries like finding particles faster than the speed of light.  So, we are sent back at square one again.  Science discovers, then realises... actually, it doesn't know anything at all.

     Okay, so this post isn't really about science as such, nor the spirit world, it's about good old 2012.  The Mayan calender ends and begins again.  Does this mean the end for us then? Some think that it will be a spiritual awakening, others believe it's an astronomical calculation.  Some think that it is - well - it...the end.  It could mark the beginning of natural disasters too, though I don't really think we can attribute it to a spiritual intervention. We are quite good at making the planet a dirty place to live all on our own.

      Now, do I believe that December 2012 will be the end for us all? In a word - no.  If I did, I wouldn't be planning the next few years of novel ideas and I wouldn't be writing short stories for Cafe three-Zero.  I like the idea of a spiritual awakening; a new time of consciousness, a milestone in human evolution, physically and spiritually.  There is something positive about that.  A kind of internal alchemy where we understand ourselves more to attain a higher plane of existence.  I really like the idea of us caring about where we live and each other more too.  Weather we do remains to be seen. It's part of being human, isn't it; dreaming, hoping, creating. 

     I could babble on all day with this; talk about who we are and why. So I won't start on that thread of, yes, but...where did we come from...and what created the big bang anyway. What came before and how big is the universe? Is there more than one reality?  These are of course questions to raise at another time, somewhere in the future.

     So what do you think about 2012? Will it end? Do you even care? Will the UK win tons of gold medals at the home Olympics? It's over to you readers... and if you liked the post, feel free to comment or share. You can now even follow me via email.