The best thing you can do is relax.
I learned this from years of martial arts. Whether you are in a fight or not, if you are relaxed, you have a much better chance of surviving -- even
prevailing. Why do you think drunks are the ones who walk away most often from car wrecks?
Am I saying we should all get drunk? I don't know.
I do know this: People have been talking about the end of time, since the beginning of time. And we're still here.
The universe is impermanent. Change sometimes comes in fits and starts, and sometimes in a tidal wave. But if IT comes, there's nothing we can do
about it. We have to decide if we are ready to face the apocalypse tense and afraid, with our psyches paralyzed by futile terror and defiance, or just
relax and enjoy life as best we can.
Sure, it's good to be prepared. Get some ammo and some flashlight batteries. But if the sun is shining, and the air is breathable, get outside, go
to the beach, go to the woods. Enjoy yourself while you're alive. You won't be forever.
I'm writing this for myself to hear, as much as anyone.
I too have had feelings of impending doom. But it's not the first time. And it probably won't be the last. I'm old enough to remember three wars
(if you count the first Gulf War, and I'm not counting all the 'dirty little wars' of the Reagan years), and every time there's a war, everybody
freaks out. Everybody has bad feelings, and bad dreams. This time is no exception. It's made worse when you factor in the threat of terrorism and
greatly increased access to every little piece of 'evidence' that any geek with a website can come up with to prove that we won't live past next
month, or next year, or 2012, or whatever.
I've had some crazy dreams lately too, and maybe they'll all come true. All I know is, I just got a house, after years of living like a goddamned
transient, and I'm enjoying listening to the birds singing outside my window.
I hope there are birds after armageddon.