21 Dec If The World Were to End Today…

…that would be perfectly acceptable to me.

If you aren’t aware, the Mayan Calendar predicted that the world would end on Dec 21, 2012. Considering it’s already the 21st in Australia, I think that maybe – just maybe – there was some sort of broken telephone thing going on.

Regardless, the whole “apocalypse” thing set the internet abuzz with jokes, memes, articles, and end of life confessions. So, naturally, its predominance in the media got me thinking: “If the world were to end today, would I be ok with it?”

Yes, actually – I would.

When I say I’d be ok with the world ending today, I don’t mean it in an “emo,” I hate myself, my life, everyone, and everything type of way. I’d be ok with not living anymore simply because I am completely satisfied with how I’ve spent my 23 years on this planet.

Besides the few years that I was too young to know myself from a mirror and the few years I was comatose from illness in a hospital bed, I can honestly say that in my 23 years, I’ve done everything I’ve wanted to do. I’ve learned, I’ve loved, I’ve lost, I’ve grown, I’ve given, I’ve received, and I’ve traveled.

Though I am only, 23 years of age I understand that there is so much I have yet to experience. I haven’t built a fully developed career, I haven’t been to every continent, I haven’t spent my life with a partner I love nor have I raised kids into something I would be proud of. Most importantly, I haven’t changed the world anywhere near as much as I would like. I recognize that there is so much more I need to accomplish in the years ahead.  Yet, somehow, the thought of not having those years doesn’t upset me. I feel strangely fulfilled.

I used to know – well, I still do know – a number of people who focus their entire life on their future and a number of people who dwell in their past. These people worry about their careers and how much money they will make or they obsess over the mistakes they’ve made years before.

If the world were to end for them today, would they be happy?

If the world were to end for these people today, they would probably be so consumed in the insignificant details of what is going on outside of their immediate present that they wouldn’t even notice. Maybe that’s a good thing – not recognizing the end of life.

I see it as a sad existence.

You all know that I’ve dealt with the loss of life; the loss of life to others who have physically left this world. However, I’ve also experienced the loss of people from immediate reality; from making the most out now. I’ll admit – in some of my past blog posts I have worried about the future and I have sadly reminisced about the past. However, where it really mattered, I’ve focused on what’s right in front of me.

If the world were to end today, I’d be ok with it because I’ve spent my 23 years of life living. Not living in what life could be, or what life was, but living in what it is.

I read a quote today that said, “If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present.”

I am at peace.