Single-shot of Earth taken from 22,369 miles away by Russian weather satellite Elektro-L No.1. |
So… here we are.
We’ve survived the infamous and much-anticipated Mayan “End
Date”, which coincided with our winter solstice. Despite the
alignment of our sun between earth and the center of the Milky Way,
we haven’t experienced a reversal of our magnetic poles. No
drifting asteroid or off-kilter planet has collided with the earth.
We’re not experiencing a nuclear winter. We don’t even have much
snow on the ground. It seems the “Apocalypse of 2012” had more
‘woof’ than ‘poof!’
A friend asked me last
month what I was going to be doing on December 21st. I
looked at the calendar, saw the date came on a Friday and said “I’ll
be at work.”
“Seriously?” he
asked. “You’re going to spend what could be your last day on
earth… working?”
Ever patient and
practical, I explained.
“Ah, but you see –
if December 21st isn’t my last day on earth, I want to
have a job to go to on Monday morning. The End of the World is
merely a supposition. If I ditch work based solely on frenzied
conjecture, becoming unemployed is a certainty!”
I’m not much of a
gambler, it seems. (And I really don’t talk like that, either.
‘Frenzied conjecture’? Forgive me, please…)
Of course, there have
been grumblings about all sorts of man-made disasters that might
signal the End Times – or at least, very Rough Times. I’ve heard
predictions that the stock market is going to crash… and that the
banking industry will follow. That the current Middle East conflicts
will evolve into world war. That America will soon become a police
state, a socialist state, a fascist state. The catastrophes
envisioned by some people are endless.
All of these scenarios
are possible. Some may even be probable. There is no guarantee that
our lives will move forward with predictability or that they will
improve as time goes by. That’s what we hope for, of course…but
history has shown that we humans and the earth which sustains us have
a tendency for going through periods of great upheaval. Sustained
boredom is not an option, here on Planet Earth.
But what is the benefit
of worrying constantly about all things ‘doom’ and ‘gloom’?
I believe an individual’s quality of life suffers immensely when he
concentrates too much on ‘what ifs’, especially when they are
pessimistic or depressing.
So I’ve decided to
look to the future and approach 2013 with a positive attitude. The
year will have several milestones in it and I’d rather look forward
to those than dread possible calamities.
Guy, Josie-Earl and Eli, Thanksgiving 2012 |
Our son Guy will turn
thirty. Daughter Josie-Earl will be graduating from Carrabec High
School. Our boy Eli will (we hope) get his driver’s license.
Steven and I are going to celebrate our 20th anniversary.
And I will turn fifty. That’s right; in 2013 I will turn fifty.
Years old. The ‘Big Five-Oh’. Yay….
I’m trying to look at
my September birthday with optimism rather than dread. For just as
no one knows if there is imminent disaster on the earth’s horizon,
so I don’t know if turning fifty will be the big ‘downer’ I
expect it will be. The great thing about it is that I have some
power over how I approach this landmark birthday. I can be bummed
out and discouraged and act like I’m ‘middle-aged’ – or I can
do things to make my 50th year one to be remembered with
happiness and a sense of accomplishment.
I’ve decided to go
skydiving to celebrate my half-century mark. By writing this
publicly I’m setting the plan in stone…which is exactly how I
imagine I’ll drop – like a stone. I’m not particularly scared
of heights but I am petrified of falling. When I cross the Onawa
Trestle, the center of which rises 157 feet above the stream bed
below, I practically have to crawl on my hands and knees. Even
standing several feet away from the edge I can convince myself that
I’m going to fall and I get dizzy with vertigo. It’s rather
silly but I can’t help it. I’m terrified of falling.
So I’ll jump,
instead. From a few thousand feet above the earth. Am I afraid to?
Absolutely! I’m petrified! But it’s kind of funny… I’m not
nearly as worried about skydiving as I am about chickening out. I
have this awful dread that I’ll get to the open door of that
airplane and I’ll change my mind. Vehemently. Maybe even
violently. That I’ll plant my feet, embed my nails in the fuselage
and refuse to budge. Yep, I’m far more fearful of acting cowardly
about the whole ‘step out into nothing’ scenario than I am of
plummeting to earth with nothing but a swatch of wispy silk to break
my fall.
To protect me from
myself, I’ve asked several friends if they’d like to go skydiving
with me. I’ve even asked them if they’d volunteer to push me
out. I’ve accepted their ready agreements with delight and relief
– sure that they only wish to save me from myself and will receive
no pleasure from the pushing.
What else will I do to
celebrate my 50th? I haven’t decided yet. I’m still
coming to grips with the fact that I’ve decided to jump out of an
airplane while it’s in the air. But one thing that will make the
year special is that I think I’ll be able to enjoy another visit
from Larry, one of my good friends in Australia. When I asked Larry
if he’d like to go skydiving with me he said, “Nah.” There was
no hesitation whatsoever in his response. But he did volunteer his
girlfriend Deb for the excursion. He even promised to talk her into
giving me a little push if I needed it. What a pal.
We made it through the
year 2012. Some of it was good; parts of it were not-so-good. Since
life is unpredictable, 2013 will likely be the same but I’m
determined to make the most of it. I’ll challenge myself to
overcome one of my life-long fears. And when I land back on terra
firma I’ll be exuberant. Proud of myself. Full of exhilaration at
my accomplishment. And with luck, those friends I grab in panic
on my way out of the plane will land safely beside me.