Does anyone else feel kind-of strange making plans for 2013? I find it hard to believe that December 2012 has arrived. It was strange enough when 2012 began and now I feel even stranger putting appointments in next year’s calendar.

I am not one of the one-in-ten Australians who believe the world will end in December 2012 (recent trivia statistic), but the date has been on my radar for the last four years, and, well, 2013 hasn’t.

There was so much I wanted to do before December 2012. I wanted my book to be a best-seller. I planned to finish my PhD. I thought I’d see a shift in society that might give me confidence about the future. I was convinced that “either we will change by 2012, or we are doomed.”

Meanwhile my book is finished, but not published. My PhD has been downgraded back to MPhil, and even that isn’t complete. The global population is still exponentially growing, and our consumption habits with it.

That being said, I have noticed subtle changes. The “Cradle to Cradle” model that uses waste as food can be seen all around: from biodegradable garbage bags to eco-buildings. Two and a half years ago I wrote was blogging about “Where we are, where we are going, and how”. Inspired by the Pachamamma Alliances “Awakening The Dreamer” initiative that aimed to challenge the average materialistic aspirations and consider more social and ecological objectives that might carry with it greater levels of happiness and feelings of fulfillment. More or less the conclusion of such “new consciousness” movements is that individual’s making changes locally will add up to great change globally. I have seen many of such changes. We may still be far from sustainable living but the intention to adapt our lifestyles is there and is spreading fast. The shift in our actions, to match our intentions, is slowly but surely following suit.

Why 2012? And why the winter/summer solstice (depending on your hemisphere) i.e. the 21st December 2012? And what will happen? There have been many theories:

  • the lining up of the earth, sun and galactic center of the Milky Way – happens every 26,000 year cycle – some say this is due to our sun (and with it our galaxy) revolving around another star (I think this one is probably true)
  • geomagnetic reversal ie the poles will shift – north becomes south, south becomes north (might f* up your sat nav… but is a shift that takes thousands of years so I doubt you’ll notice)
  • a cataclysmic end of the world/ end of human civilization, possibly with Planet X will colliding with Earth (I highly doubt it)
  • shift to a new consciousness, toward a more peaceful way of being (I hope so!)

Calculate the Mayan Day Sign for your birthday here.

As far as I’m concerned every day is the beginning of a new world. The beginning of a new year has a grander feeling about it, and with the last 4 years having an awareness of this particular end/beginning, it’s an even more exciting countdown: 17 days, 17 hours to go.

Whatever happens I’m going to be celebrating with a huge End of the World Party at JGHQ, and I can’t wait!

Bring on the end of the world-as-we-know-it… maybe I’ll catch ya on the other side 😉