God's Dream

It has occurred to me that perhaps the world did end on December 21, 2012 as prophesied by the Mayans.

It's not just that time is out of joint. It's not just that the overall stupidity in the world has magnified in its intensity and frequency. It's not just that there seems now to be a prevailing sense of apathy about anything.

People I have known seem to have given up. There seems to be no higher purpose driving them on. There seems to be an increase in the zombie-like muddling through one's day and the next guy be damned if I am late, or don't respond to an email, or do not return a phone call. And I don't care what sob story you have about how much you need my help, or who is going to die, or what you expect from me for the money you pay me for service.

The Zombie Apocalypse is here. Just look at anyone in the customer service, food service, or hospitality industries

When once there was a clear cut, in focus world, perhaps not filled with, but not impossible to find sense of honor, dignity, duty, resolve, selflessness. Since that fateful day in December 2012, I have found these things non-existent -- except for the rare few that one runs into in one's day, and they seem as befuddled as I am. "What has happened to these things?" they ask.

In a recent conversation I had with a coworker who was also lamenting the disappearance of selfless customer service, senses of urgency, a smile while selflessly serving another, we postulated that perhaps the world did end and those that muddled through life asleep or angry or selfish don't know it yet because, for them, the world had already met its end. The rest of us - those who walked about in wonder, those that felt the pain, those that strove to make something better, those of us who had a higher purpose for what we do and who we are and how we act, are the only ones that have really noticed. Because for us, the world had not already ended. And now, where before, we lived in expectation of the hope of a better world, we find ourselves alone, only rarely passing one another, shooting each other quizzical looks as if to say, "What has happened? Am I the only one?"

Our conversation went on to the metaphysical and we questioned whether the world up until the end of the Mayan calendar was just us living within God's dream and on December 21, 2012, He awoke and now we are just a distant memory, vivid but unclear. What if those of us who are still awake are simply those fragments of a dream - we've all had them -- that seem perfectly clear and retain a spot in our memory throughout the day, but this time it is not ours but God's; and those who did not notice anything amiss are simply fading away.

I think, and this sets up my next post, the makers of Craftsman lawnmowers, and others ( I feel compelled to  mention the Tea Party infested Arkansas Legislature), are a part of God's fading dream and those of us who are awake will have to, with renewed purpose, dedication, and unfaltering faith, keep the dream alive.