Earlier this year an ultra-conservative "christian" radio host claimed that he knew the date the world would end. That date came and went and, lo and behold, the guy claimed he calculated wrong and it was supposed to be later in the year. When that date also came and went his credibility was completely gone.
In my opinion it was gone the first time he made a similar claim some years back. He isn't the first to claim this special knowledge and he won't be the last.
Nevertheless, hosts of people are holding their breath waiting to see if the Mayans were right when they allegedly claimed the world would end on December 21, 2012.
What surprises me is people's ignorance in believing something the Mayan's didn't claim in the first place. Although I have only a rudimentary understanding of the Mayan issue, I know that December 21, 2012 is the end of a Mayan "epic." The Mayan calendar contained several epics (I forget the exact number) and the epic we're in happens to be at the end of the cycle of epics. Only recently have people claimed that the end of this epic cycle means the end of time.
Regardless of the proper interpretation of the Mayan calendar they were undoubtedly a very advanced civilization. But that hardly makes them keepers of the earth's clock.
My mom used to tell me, "Wherever you are, be all there."
So go ahead and plan for the future. You never know when a little preparation could go a long way.
Learn also from the past and look with skepticism at these claims.
But above all, just live in the present. Even if the world ends tomorrow, you can still get joy out of today
