"Life will give you whatever experience

is most helpful for the evolution of your

consciousness."

— Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth

Tornadoes, tsunamis, hurricanes, droughts and other natural and man-enduced disasters; record heat; relationships ending….With all that swarming in the news, plus the sobering 10-year anniversary of 9-11 upon us, I've been doing a lot of thinking about 2012. I know. I know. The best joke I've read spoofing the whole hysteria around next year's calendar turn is: "2012–Been there. Done that. Signed, Y2K."

I tried not to smirk when one of my best friends explained her belief in the whole Mayan calendar theory to me a few years back. Now she's laughing at my once Doubting Thomas posture. My conservative Christian past comes back to haunt me in times like this. Biblical warnings of end times. Hmmm. And, when the scary previews last year for that movie, "2012," barged into my consciousness otherwise content to be sitting in a dark theater in anticipation of a entertaining flick while stuffing my wide-open chops full of buttered popcorn. As the previews roared flashing scenes of a tidal wave consuming the entire West coast and spreading eastward, my adrenaline boiled up from the pit of my stomach. I don't believe in clinging to Fear of the Unknown. As my current psycho-spiritual mentor (and many others, such as Tolle, quoted in his important book above,) note: worrying about an unborn future, (or revisiting a dead past) keeps us from cherishing the Now. The Right Here. The Present. The Gift of this here Moment.

Some believe that we are coming to this crossroads environmentally and politically–the latter as demonstrated daily in unheard heretofore governmental uprisings and the disgusting, imbecilic, fractious gridlock of our great country's own warring politicians. The desired place is that we as a human culture raise to the next level of consciousness–care for the gift of Earth and stop ridiculously destroying her in the name of Greed; that we truly Love One another and be at Peace in our wonderful World. Is that possible? Can Humankind make that shift? Some say we are on the precipice of a Spiritual Awakening. Will it be the Spiritual Awakening to a God of One or sectarian as many believe? Some people have and are making the shift. And then…I find it hard to believe with so much unrest that we can collectively get there….

And, yes, talk of these ideas bring out Old Time Religions and culture and politics as usual with each pushing back and shaking one fist in protest of impending change, while clenching the other fist, holding tight to the ways that separate us.

I don't know. Who knows for sure? But, it is getting interesting. Each day, I choose to concentrate (sometimes I score, other times I "fail") to living this precious Now moment by moment and to Be Open to what Each One teaches me while the future is so Unknown. And so it is….

What do you think? (Oh, and happy Labor Day, Everyone!)

Further reading: Wikipedia's The 2012 Phenomenon page offers an analysis on a variety of views.