Not Raptured

Not that I was expecting to be, but I wasn't Raptured on Saturday. Neither was anyone else on the planet, as far as I can tell.

Truth be told, the whole Rapture/End of the World thing was a pretty interesting distraction this week. I learned more about Revelations than I ever thought I'd know and it was infinitely fascinating to read about the true believers who had "chucked it all" in anticipation of not being here on Sunday morning. I feel really badly for these people. I can't imagine what kind of mental state they must be in because their world did, truly, end in many ways. The foundation of their beliefs was ripped from them. I imagine they must feel very lost right now.

Harold Camping - still has his fortune

And what of the prophet who convinced so many people that the end was nigh? He didn't sell off his assets or give away his fortune, by the way.  He's still pretty set today. According to one very short story I read on the news service, he's "stunned" and "can't believe it didn't happen." He's also 89 years old with, presumably, a pretty good sized bank account. Dude will bounce back, I'm sure. Is he going to support the 20-something family that quit their jobs, sold their possessions, and spent the last couple of months living on their savings so they could proselytize the end? These are the people I worry about. He led a bunch of people down a garden path, promising them eternal bliss and delivering complete destruction of their lives.

Regardless of one's religious beliefs, to accept any doomsday prophesy as absolute truth is incredibly short-sighted. Why would today's prophesy be any more accurate than the hundreds (thousands?) of prophesies throughout the ages? And, if you study history at all, you know that, in times of strife doomsday prophecies spread like the virus that they are. People are desperate for a catastrophic solution to life's problems.

I'm a big fan of the "I'm alive in this moment" approach to life. Right now, as I'm typing this, I'm alive. I make decisions based on the fact that, as of this moment, I'm alive. If the prophet forgot to carry the one and the Rapture is really going to happen on May 21, 2012, I'll deal with it that day, as soon as I see the rolling earthquakes starting. And what is there to deal with at that point, you ask? Probably not much. Maybe I'll choose to sit and knit and snuggle with my dogs until the earthquakes hit my house. I'll probably call my mom and tell her goodbye. I'll definitely eat something really fattening and possibly have a mid-day cocktail. Because, when it's all said and done, there's no escaping the end of the world - so you may as well enjoy those last few hours in the simplest way possible.

- Alex