Today we are being visited by the lovely Annalisa Crawford. Take it away, Annalisa!
It's been a year since my novella Cat and The Dreamer was published! There have been lots of changes in my own life in that time, and I started to wonder what else had changed...Thank you Rachel for inviting me over today!
Today's topic: The end of the world, Mayan style!
The world was supposed to end on 21 December 2012. I did not know this. Or at least, I think I must have been aware of it at some point over the last five years or so, but by February 2012, I'd forgotten.
So yes, it's all nonsense. If the world was going to end on a specific date we'd have some forewarning - a meteor in our skies for several months, a giant tsunami creeping across the globe, a disease passing from one continent to another. At no point will we be snuffed out with the speed of a candle.
So the question is: why do people believe this? Are we really so disillusioned with our lives that impending doom is preferable? Are we ultimately so self-destructive as a race that this seems a likely or logical course of action?
What actually makes me sad is reading the scientists views that the universe could be torn apart in 22 billion years time. I know that's quite a long time from now - and life on Earth would probably have disappeared a long time before that. But the thought of nothing once more makes me wonder: what's the point of all of this?
It reminds me of being a kid and looking up at the stars - so many pinprick stars in a black sky - and feeling so very insignificant...
Ahem... well, this post went off on a different track than I intended.
What are your view on life, the universe and everything?
Do you think the end of the world might happen in our lifetime?
As a teenager, Julia survived a suicide pact, while her best friend Rachel died. Julia’s only escape from her guilt, and her mother’s over-protection, is her imagination. When Adam arrives in the office, Julia’s world takes a startling turn as she realises reality can be much more fun than fantasy. Finally she has someone who can help her make the most of her life. But can she allow herself to be truly happy?
Cat and The Dreamer is available on Kindle UK, Kindle US, Kobo, Nook, iTunes/iBooks, and via Vagabondage Press.
Annalisa Crawford lives and writes in Cornwall with a good supply of beaches and moorland to keep her inspired. She finds endless possibilities in the relationships between people. Several new projects are on the cards for 2013.
Find her on her blog, Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads.
Thanks for letting me take over your blog!
ReplyDeleteThanks for doing it! This was an interesting topic. :)
DeleteLOL, I love that you said 22 billion years is "quite a long way from now." Yes, yes it is! :p
ReplyDeleteI had to put it into some kind of context :-)
DeleteLong time or not, it is weird to think it'll all come to an end some day. Thankfully, that is long enough to not worry about it! :)
DeleteI just know that if the world sorta ends, I'm not a Mad Max kind of gal - not good at survival techniques (not a fan of camping. I do like toilet paper). So, if it ends, I want to be in the part that blows to smithereens.
ReplyDeleteBut, I do have a selection of vests I can lend you, and that seems to be key to survival!
DeleteLol, that's an interesting poinf of view, Joanne! I would imagine you could find plenty who agree, though. :)
DeleteI believe in Judgement Day, but we're not all getting snuffed out at once.
ReplyDeleteI have my own theories about the Judgement Day, but I don't want to get too religious on someone else's blog - maybe I'll share it one day.
DeleteI agree we won't all be snuffed out at once. As far as answering to some higher power, I believe we will.
DeleteNot to sound all preachy, but if you believe in the Bible. and I do, Jesus said that day WILL come suddenly. And if you're a young earth creationist, and I am, you know the world is only about six thousand years old, which makes the chance of it happening in our lifetime more likely. That being said, I don't really look forward to it or dread it. What will be will be.
ReplyDeleteWe shall agree to disagree, Melanie. Thanks for your comments.
DeleteWhat will be will be. I agree with that. None of us knows the future for sure. Thanks for commenting. :)
DeleteFirst, I don't think that the universe will end in 22 billion years (which isn't that long as far as the universe is concerned). I think that scientists will figure out something (probably more about the properties of dark matter, which actually does exist) that will help us figure out why we won't just blow apart in 22 billion years.
ReplyDeleteAs for the world ending in our lifetimes? Sort of. I suspecte that the world will change so much in our lifetimes that it will be unrecognizable by the end of our projected lifespans. Humans are very resourceful.
I know my husband believes there will be big changes in our lifetimes as well.
DeleteI like to think they'll figure out how to avoid the end of life, as well. 22 billion years is certainly a lot of time for science to advance.
If you think how unrecognisable it is from just 100 years ago, you could be right Rena.
DeleteThe world could end within our lifetimes because humans are both clever enough and stupid enough to destroy it.
ReplyDeleteI have faith that the clever ones will overpower the stupid ones :-)
DeleteI sure hope they will! :)
DeletePeople believe all kinds of stuff. One truth, we all die. So go out and live.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. I won't be hiding in any bunkers!
DeleteVery true!
DeleteIn my lifetime, due to planetary alignments and software glitches, the world ended in 1977, 1980, 1984 and 2000.
ReplyDeleteSincerely,
Ration Rube
It probably means no one will believe it if one day the world really was ending. We'll all make jokes and watch Armageddon-style films!
DeleteLol! I've lived through a few 'ends of the world' too. :)
DeleteNobody knows the day or hour, and I'm good with that. I trust my Father. :)
ReplyDeleteThere are some things we don't need to know - that is the healthiest way to approach life.
DeleteI agree, it's a good attitude. :)
DeleteThere is one certainty in life... we are all going to die!
ReplyDeleteSo live each day as if it were your last!
That being said, I don't believe we will go out in a mass snuffing... and humans, being the self-destructive creatures that we are... who knows...
Like I said in a previous comment, I have faith that we'll come to our senses in good time...
DeleteI agree, live each day. If we spend all our time worrying about the end, we miss the now.
DeleteI tend to the view that what we are doing to the planet means we will have to get out of here before it gets destroyed by any other means. Just hope we learn our lesson when we find somewhere else!
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting all the new planets that are being discovered, we may all end up on spacecraft. Although I hope we all get to get to go - I wouldn't be keen on being left behind through lack of space!
DeleteIt is interesting, Annalisa. However, I still feel bad for Pluto. :(
DeleteI think folks who buy into the end of the world "events" feel so out of control in their own lives that sudden extinction seems just as likely as losing your job due to downsizing after decades of service, or losing your house after faithfully making mortgage payments, or graduating from college only to not find work in your field for years, etc., etc. The economic disaster begun in 2008 has spawned such a depression, and was so completely out of the average individual's hands, I think it's easy to believe in the next big disaster. I even wonder about folks who joke about the Doomsday predictions...are they really so certain it's nonsense? Really? Hmmm...
ReplyDeleteFeeling out of control certainly could explain it.
DeleteThat makes a lot of sense. There was a period of time when Hubby banned me from watching the news, because I would just sit there saying 'We're doomed' as I saw financial markets collapse and world weather events stir up problems. I feel more positive now :-)
DeleteI don't think the end of the universe will ever happen. As for Earth, not in our lifetime. Unless those aliens really plan on demolishing it and building their highway!
ReplyDeleteI'll keep an eye on the skies here, if you do the same where you are! Any sign of a highway and I send a smoke signal :-)
DeleteLol, glad to have you ladies on the lookout!
DeleteI've never been the type to believe the world will end in this lifetime, but it sure does make great fodder for books and the like! ;)
ReplyDeleteI am working on my own end of the world story - but I can't get the ending right :-)
DeleteIt certainly has! I know I enjoy reading them. :)
Deleteabsolutely fascinating!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it? We got some really interesting responses. :)
DeleteThanks for reading, Wendy :-)
DeleteRachel - there's an award for you on my blog (which you may have already had!)
ReplyDeleteAnnalisa - I'm pretty sure you've had the award, but I've given you a shout-out anyway!
Thank you, Linda. Yes, I think in my 3 years of blogging, I've been through the rounds of awards! I'll check it out now :-)
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