It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine.......

The world is meant to end today. At around 2pm Hong Kong time. I found this out, as I was unsure of the local time due to all the time zone differences. I wondered, if the world was going to end if I still had to go to work? I started my last day on earth by going for an early morning run through the skyline of Hong Kong. I listened to uplifting songs and enjoyed the increased heart rate. I decided that running was definitely a metaphor for life.  Push yourself, keep going, believe you can, deep breaths, up and down.

I read about the 2012 phenomenon: Wikipedia states in the opening line 'the 2012 phenomenon comprises a range of eschatological beliefs according to which cataclysmic or transformative events will occur around 21 December 2012'. Around the 21st.....that's not very specific?! I thought this was a done deal. Fact. 

Well this is a nicer thought, even though I think this happens on a daily basis, not just on the 21st December 'inhabitants may undergo a positive physical or spiritual transformation' not quite the catastrophe expected. I've heard some people have sold their houses, declared love, separated and devoiced all in the wake of the world ending. Apparently the Chinese are getting quite into this........My friend at work said 'people should do this anyway, not just because they think they world is going to end'. I couldn't agree more, telling someone you love them should not be left until the moments you believe are to be your last. 

I have heard the conspiracy theories.....oh yes I have. I'd imagine my old office is getting into the spirit of the end of the world. 'The arrival of the next solar maximum, an interaction between Earth and the black hole at the center of the galaxy, or Earth's collision with a planet called Nibiru' I have heard this all before. I wonder if the chem trails, shape shifting lizards and the healing pyramid are all in action today??!? 

Googling '2012 the end of the world' the top three listings were; 'NASA - beyond 2012: why the world wont end', 'End of the world CONFIRMED', (the most dramatic of results) and the ever so useful Daily Mail 'Will the world end on the 21st December' which talks mainly about the film, which I have actually seen a few years ago, but sadly can't remember how it ended. Not that I think it would have been useful.

The end of the world got me thinking about the decisions we make. I remember reading a story about a professor who said something a little something like this, to a class of his students; 

‘If you were told you had one year to live, how would your life change?

What would you do differently if you knew that your time on earth was limited?

What decisions would you make?

Now what happens to those plans if you were told you had six months to live? Six months to do everything you want to do before your time is up.

Now what happens if that time was only one month? What would you do in your last four weeks?

How does this change if you had one week? Who would you want to see? What things would you want to do?

Now what happens if you were told that today was it...........today was all you had? What is stopping you from living your life as if tomorrow was not promised to you?’

Tomorrow isn't promised to anyone. It never has been. We believe that tomorrow will come, but one day, I can promise you, it won’t. One day it will all be over. I hope that I will be grey and old, but that is just hope.

Faith in the future.

I think on the whole I have learnt to live my life day to day, not focusing too much on the future, or the end results but embracing the moment and feeling alive. 

It does poise the question; why we make decision based on the future? If tomorrow never came, would you regret a single thing?  What would be my regrets today, this very moment?

I would be sad not to have given my mum one final bear hug 

I’d be sad not to see my sister and her family, happy in their beautiful house in the Hampshire countryside one last time. 

I’d have liked to try once more to communicate better with my Dad

I would have loved to have one final catch up with my friends

But the things I’d be grateful for......Oh, the things I’m grateful for..............now

I am grateful that I have a mummy who knows that I love her all the way round the world and back, and that never ends. A mummy who wouldn't want me to regret a single thing. 

I am overwhelmed with love for my sister and her family and how beautiful it is that she reached her dreams so soon. That she found inner peace and love and now has a beautiful baby boy to share that with.

I have wholeheartedly let go of any regret about the relationship I've missed with my Dad. We are all responsible for our own emotions and actions, and sadly ours just didn't cross paths. I am not angry, I am not sad and I am grateful for the lessons this has taught me about unconditional love and more importantly, how important it is to not value yourself based on how others treat you. In some ways this relationship has helped me grow the most. 

And lastly, the friends I have made along the way. Each and every one of them has touched my soul in some way and encouraged, guided, advised, cared, laughed, cried and joined me on my journey.

I have seen beauty in the smallest things. I have found happiness in unexpected places. I have discovered a world that I belong in. 

All in all, if the world ended today, I’d have a smile on my face and love in my heart. I have a magic sparkle, and even the world ending wouldn't dull my inner light.