I recently watched the Discovery Channel show 2012 Apocalypse. It shows people around the world making a living from selling doomsday bunkers at outrageous prices, as well as a wide range of survival gear. Other sites, usually blogs by self-appointed modern-day ¨prophets¨are selling e-books, DVD’s and asking for donations to keep the ’cause’ going. The cause being making more people aware of our imminent demise and ‘preparing’ them for it. Even the very people who tell you on their posts that they have been endowed by the Gods or powerful aliens to deliver this message want to charge you for it. And so the question arises, how does one prepare for The Apocalypse?
1. You need a doomsday bunker, a place to hide (preferably underground) where you can go prior to the end. This assumes that the December 21, 2012 “end of the world” theory is correct and that you will have plenty of time to get to your hiding place in time. This also assumes you will remain unharmed when left-out family members find out you intend to survive without them. So far, some people have paid up to 1.5 million dollars for a modest underground condo. I wonder what they’ll do with it if the feared date comes to pass and nothing apocalyptic happens. Will they use it as a weekend getaway? Sell it? To whom? Even if something horrible happens, how do they know these bunkers will survive the cataclysm?
2. You need an emergency kit. Here’s a link to the FEMA recommended kit which makes sense to have in light of the increasing natural and man-made disasters we’ve been experiencing the world over.
3. Store plenty of imperishable food in a safe place. If events occur that affect the U.S. food supply, you won’t get caught by surprise. This also makes sense.
If you check all those three and the apocalypse comes, then you are saved, right? Well, not necessarily. As mentioned before, people with bunkers are counting on an exact date that’ll give them time to get to their safe place. But what if the date is wrong? Also, if the catastrophe is of a solar/asteroid nature, will you really be safe? Emergency kits and extra food are nice to have in any situation, but with your city/town in a state of chaos, do you really think you will have them to yourself if others who did not prepare come to you for rescue? Do you really want to be one of those who survives a cataclysm only to meet your demise to a hungry neighbor? 🙂
The what if equation becomes quite big when you are gambling with survival instincts. There is an entire industry behind 2012 and our fear of death. Many people don’t believe in destiny, but I believe that if you are to go, no amount of emergency kits or bunkers can keep you safe. Think of the many people who, out of the blue, decided to call in sick on 9/11 and missed the horrendous event. Think of the people who were safely evacuated and decided to go back to their office to pick up an item, only to encounter death. Think of the firefighters who were there to save lives and never came out. Think of the people who missed the planes that crashed into the twin towers. Most recently, Joplin MO was hit with the strongest tornado in recorded history and the death count is still rising from 118. Some survivors are telling us that they survived this monster storm by holding on to a refrigerator or another object exposed to the elements. What are the chances?
Although there’s plenty of randomness in this world I don’t subscribe to the chaos theory. There’s method to the madness. If we accept, as mentioned in a recent post, that we are more than flesh and our spirits transcend the present reality, then maybe world events as they are happening will seem a bit less unnerving. No amount of money can buy you peace. No amount can guarantee you salvation, physical or spiritual. Those trying to profit from people’s fear of the unknown are making good business. If buying a bunker makes you feel better prepared for the unlimited what-if’s of life, more power to you, but know this:
- your hard-earned money is better off saved, or spent living your life in a way that will make it more meaningful and fulfilling, whether the world ends or not
- if our physical world comes to pass you will only need to prepare one thing: your SELF. That part of you that knows deep down there’s more to look forward to than the joys and perils of the present life.
