On this, the last day of the Mayan Calendar, we're getting ready for the re-set. A little over a year ago, Harold Camping was predicting the end of the world (http://intermittent-tappings-of-a-wordpecker.blogspot.com/2011/05/rapture-rescheduled.html). Years before that we had the Y2K scare. Decades before that Herbert Armstrong predicted the end of the world -- THREE TIMES! Doomsday predictions are becoming...well...predictable.
While we are confident that the world will spin on long after December 21st, it does present an opportunity to give thanks for the little things that make our life easier, sometimes better.
Simple things like bustling stores filled with harried shoppers in search of the perfect Christmas present; the solidarity that foul weather brings to people who want snow but get freezing rain; the light cooing of wild turkeys scratching at the ground in the backyard in search of food; a good book beside a warm fire when temperatures dip below zero; the way your body relaxes into a warm bath as you close your eyes and unwind at the end of the day; talking on the telephone to someone who lives a day away but who is always on your mind; the way that Christmas lights reflect on a light dusting of snow; cute and corny Christmas movies that play over and over leading up to the holidays. Countless riches that we take for granted. Things that deserve our attention...that deserve a second look.
I've been thinking carefully about the things that I don't necessarily use or do everyday, but things that I would miss nonetheless. Take out pizza, for instance. Picking up the phone, calling in your order and picking up a hot pizza for dinner is an absolute treat. Delivery is divine. There are a thousand conveniences I take for granted every day. Modern day conveniences like: hair mousse, flannel sheets, my flat iron, ordering breakfast through a drive-through window, Noxema, whitening tooth paste, my coffee grinder, my coffee maker, Costco, microwaves, spider solitaire, hand cream, the Internet, over-the-counter pain relief, greeting cards, IPhones, radio...this list could go on...and on...and on.
Things aside, there are also people that enrich our lives. Waking up with my kids, talking about our day, joking about things that have happened or could have happened or will happen. Knowing that there are two other people that I am inextricably linked to in life. Two people that know me better than I know myself. Two people I would do anything for. Two that would do anything for me.
Isn't it time that "the end" should be followed by a new beginning? Isn't it time that we find our peace in gratitude. Wouldn't it be better to live our best life every day instead of waiting until tomorrow to get it right?
If this was your last day, how would you live it? Why wait....
So then it's settled. On this last day, we will dance with abandon.
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