Mayans and Mud Shoes

In a little less than a month, the Mayan calendar will run out of dates and some are anticipating significant consequences for the Earth as a result. Among the entertaining memes making their rounds on the Internet are several pointing to recent events as portents to the end of civilization (even ascribing the potential demise of the Twinkie to the Mayans). There are fellow citizens proudly calling themselves “preppers” who are stashing supplies, building shelters, and arming themselves with everything from guns and ammunition to windmill driven power plants.

As an aside, during my undergraduate days at Hillsdale College, we knew “preppers” as those bedecked in certain shades of pink and green, who popped the collars on their Izod shirts, and whose standard uniform likely included kilts, monogrammed sweaters, madras, and/or L.L. Bean style mud shoes. But, I digress.

So, let’s do a collective step back and take a deep breath – there may be some opportunities here.

I’m pretty darn certain that the sun will come up on December 22, 2012 and that we’ll continue our lives with the same interruptions and challenges we face today.

But, what if – work with me a second – what if the world really was going to end in a month and we knew it? How do we spend our last days?

Visit Prague? Revel with absolute abandon? Eat good chocolate or drink that vintage you are saving for a special occasion? Buy a Maserati on a 6-year payment plan? Finally let your dog on the bed? Use the good silverware?

Rev. Kerry Shook tackles this question in his short book One Month to Live: Thirty Days to a No-Regrets Life (Waterbrook Press, 2008). From the introduction:

Your time on earth is limited.

No matter how much this idea makes you squirm, it’s a fact. No matter who you are, how young or old, what measure of success you’ve attained, or where you live, mortality remains the great equalizer. With each tick of the clock, a moment of your life is behind you. Even as you read this paragraph, seconds passed that you can never regain. Your days are numbered, and each one that passes is gone forever.

If you’re like me, you may be tempted to view this reality as harsh and unwelcome, to let it overwhelm and even paralyze you. But that’s not my purpose in writing this book—just the opposite. I’m convinced that rather than inhibiting us to play it safe, embracing our time on earth as a limited resource has incredible power to liberate us. Most of us, if we knew we only had one month to live, would live differently. We would be more authentic about whom we are and more deliberate about how we spent our time. But such a contrast begs the question: what keeps us from living this way now? (pp.1-2)

What does keep us from getting our houses in order as it relates to our relationships (temporal and spiritual)? Can we assure those people in our lives that they are loved and communicate what they mean to us? Maybe we ask forgiveness, grant pardon, and ease others pain. Maybe we hug more. Not having a “tomorrow” to enable our procrastination changes the game a bit, doesn’t it?

So, really, what’s stopping us? Do we really need a doomsday scenario to spur personal growth and community charity? Do the Mayans have to remind us be kind and to reach out to others? Why not just plain live everyday like it could be our last and savor, grow, and share the joy life offers.

And, yes, that does include getting the good chocolate.

Reverend Shook's book available here: Book

Mayan Calendar image reported to be in the public domain and available here:  Here