That neighbor I’ve mentioned a time or two previously has been bending my ear again. I swear, it’s all the time nonstop doom and gloom.
It’s gotten to the point that I try to avoid running into him whenever I leave the house, but I’m not always successful. The other day he caught me in the driveway and immediately launched into his now-patented “End Times” rant while quoting all the portentous news of the moment from the YouTube reels he’d been watching to support his opinions.
This minor obsession of his with the alleged coming end of the world is, quite honestly, the only one of his many such hobbies I can actually get on board with. Given all that’s going on in the world, it’s really hard to argue against the possibility that current geopolitics may help bring about what sectarian millenarian and biblical millennium prophesy has predicted. Add to that, all manner of natural disaster — droughts, wildfires, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, killer storms and floods being reported daily from around the globe — and it really makes you wonder if there just might be something to it.
It’s not as though these things are in themselves unusual, but they sure seem to be on the increase. This, and the continuing goings on in the Middle East, and elsewhere, has me constantly peeking out the window to see if the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are riding into town (cue the soundtrack from “The Good, the Bad and The Ugly”).
I can only hope, that in good Spaghetti Western fashion, when the smoke clears the good guys are left standing. And that’s about as topical as I’m going to get, because I quite honestly don’t care to be pulled any further into the morass if I can possibly help it.
W.R. van Elburg
This is not some reactive position I’ve adopted recently, either. It’s born of a long-standing conviction that the less I involve myself in all the “us versus them” thinking our species seems incapable of relinquishing — and more often actively promotes — the happier I’ll be. Sure, every now and then I may dip my toes in to test the waters and check to see which way the wind blows, but my personal Zen is about living as calm and peaceful a life as possible.
I’ll admit though, it’s a constant struggle to maintain my equanimity in the face of the unabating barrage of bummers raining down.
So far, they’re not the absolute worst bummers one could possibly encounter in this mean old world. Thank God! Right now, they’re mostly a few minor hardships here and there, and some inconvenience not previously experienced by many of us. I hear tell it may possibly get worse before it gets better, especially if those millenarians I mentioned are right. Those folks don’t believe it’s possible to change society gradually and have forecast cataclysmic change brought about by some apocalyptic and possibly violent event. The upside apparently being, that a purified and equitable utopian society is supposed to be the ultimate goal.
I’m not sure what to make of the “purified” part, but the rest sounds just peachy. But then, I’ve been sold “new and improved” before, so I think I’ll just wait and see.
Despite my often somewhat dark worldview, I’ve been accused of being overly optimistic and sometimes even sickeningly positive in my attitude. Personally, I don’t believe one can be overly either of those two things. Can you even begin to imagine a more disagreeable way to live your life than to worry and stress over events which have already taken place, or have yet to happen — and over which you have absolutely no control anyway? No thanks, my cup runneth over with all manner of things requiring my attention right here and now.
BTW: That “sickening” part? That’s just their opinion, anyway. So yes, I’m optimistic. And yes, I work to maintain a positive attitude in the face of an almost overwhelming daily onslaught of negativity.
But why, you may ask? Good question. I remain optimistic, because I feel to be anything else would be akin to giving up hope for the future, and I simply refuse to do that. If history has taught us anything, it’s that everything changes over time, sometimes for the better, other times not so much. But just give it minute, and it’ll probably change again.
So, the next time my dear neighbor corners me in the driveway, I’m going to look him in dead in the eyes, and bust out in a song the band R.E.M. recorded back in 1987: “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine.)”
“It’s the end of the world as we know itIt’s the end of the world as we know itIt’s the end of the world as we know it (it’s time I had some time alone)And I feel fine(I feel fine)Whoo!”
I’m positive he won’t see that one coming.
W. R. van Elburg is a James City County resident. He can be reached at w.r.vanelburg@gmail.com.