Is The World Really Going to End?

After the Easter Celebration, I spoke with a young couple who has an 8 year old son. They told me that he is a deep thinker and asks some challenging questions. Recently one of his classmates told him that the world was going to end in 2012 because the Mayans have predicted it. Naturally the boy wanted to know all about the Mayans and why they think the world is going to end. The parents were telling me they have had a difficult time knowing how to answer their son’s questions.
Many of us, if not all of us, have heard the same prediction. In fact, it’s interesting to see how many movies have come out regarding the end of the world. What do we do with the prediction? Remember Y2K? The world watched and waited as the millenium changed wondering if the world’s grid would collapse and communication would be cut off worldwide.
What sense have you made of the prediction by the Mayans? Do you ignore it? Have you investigated it? Is it a concern lingering in the back of your mind? Are you curious about it? What would you say to an 8 year old boy if he asked you the questions he has been asking his parents?
My approach as a parent was usually to talk about my feelings or perspective pretty honestly. As to the world ending in 2012, I remember being 8 years old and being terrified of a nuclear bomb that would end the world. That was 40 years ago. It seems there is always a threat of some kind. We have to decide whether to live our lives in fear of what might happen or to live our lives purposefully each day. Sometimes I slip into fear mode, but I try really hard to live purposefully every day. We have no way of knowing or predicting the future and while there is a great deal to be afraid of, there is also a great deal to discover and enjoy.
Life is a bit like running a race. If you only look at the ground right in front of your feet, you probably won’t get very far or go very fast. If you only look so far out in front of you that you don’t know what is at your feet, you could easily trip and hurt yourself. Somehow we have to find a way to notice what is in front of us and to look down the road into the distance so we are ready for both. Every step we take is a choice to live in fear or in faith.