Armageddon or reflection?

Well, folks, December 21, 2012 is almost upon us.  Some have interpreted the ancient Mayan calendar as indicating that this day would signal the end of the world, where fire would rain from the skies, floods would swallow the earth, and humanity would vanish.  Others shake their heads and continue with their holiday shopping.  A few more put forward a different take.  Joshua Berman at Huffington Post presents a quote from Dr. Jaime Awe, the director of the Institute of Archaeology in Belize, that this date "represents the ending of one cosmological cycle, and the beginning of another. It's very much the way most people would look at the end of one year and the beginning of another, but over a very, very long period of time. It is a time for reflection, and for considering future direction."

After the events of the past few weeks, when floods did swallow people's worlds, and fire did rain, tragically, on others, even skeptics might give a slight bit of credence to the notion of end times.  It feels like something is out of control and unexplainable.  It feels like we might turn to a higher power as a cause, or to define a consequence.  But, the end of days?  I don't think we're going to get out that easy.
  
Considering the end of this week as a cosmic "new year" sounds like a good idea to me.  For our country, teetering on the brink of a "fiscal cliff", where the hurt and suffering of our neighbors strained by the bad economy echoes on front pages daily, where we are still fighting wars overseas, and where I was forced to try to explain to my four-year-old why someone would want to kill little children just like him, perhaps a time of "reflection and...considering future direction" is appropriate.  We've got to fix this.

The new year, for many in this country, brings a sense of getting to start over, for resolutions to live a better life and to make better choices.  But, we can never really start over completely.  The place where we start from is always defined by the choices and circumstances of the past.  We resolve to lose weight, as we stand up from our unhealthy position on the couch.  We resolve to get along with our families better, as we rise from the usual holiday conflicts.  We resolve to be better parents, as we contemplate our past inadequacies.  Our starting place may be one of hurt, anger, sloth, pride, or jealousy, but we will do better.  Our past failures provide the context for renewal, and also the motivation.

So, instead of the world ending by extra-terrestrials, comets, or giant solar flares, let's consider the possibility that the turn of an ancient calendar might mean just another chance for change.  A new mindset, an improved vision of the future.  Despite the darkness of recent events, people all around us have taken up the call to do random acts of kindness, to advocate for changes in the country, to help heal someone else's pain.  Each of us fighting a daily battle for good, so that we may all add up to a better and brighter tomorrow.  I find that comforting.  Let's turn the tide.