When the Cosmic Clock Strikes

Having friends who have been fascinated by the modern resurgence of Mayan cosmology for the past decade, it has been rather interesting watching the hype growing around the year 2012 as a potential doomsday,, a cosmic awakening, or just another catastrophic letdown. While people are quick to jump to apocalypses whenever any ending is in sight, such as the end of centuries (and we all know how the world ended with Y2K), it seems important to keep in mind that what is essentially at stake is the end of a calendar cycle, much like midnight or new years, but on the scale of planetary revolutions. While it seems that the Mayans may not have predicted anything specific happening on December 21st of that swiftly approaching year, it is important to remember that people have a tendency to fulfill their own prophecies in any way possible. Though the ending of the solar year does not currently signal the end of the world, for centuries it did- cultures such as that of ancient Mesopotamia reenacted the destruction and recreation of reality on the new years, in elaborate, orgiastic festivals in which law was held at bay and chaos ruled, at least until tomorrow. Likewise it is possible that though no apocalyptic or revelatory event was predicted by the ancient Mayans, there is nothing to stop modern man from acting like it was, and putting on the kind of elaborate, psychotic dramas we're known for. Of course, the event of 2012 I'm most looking forward to is James Joyce's work going into the public domain.