Apocalypse – a word that strikes terror into the hearts of many people and hope in some who know what it means.

I believe we are living in the age of the Apocalypse; but before you disregard me as a doomsdayer or some sort of fundamentalist religious fanatic, allow me to briefly share a couple of thoughts with you.

The word Apocalypse literally means “the lifting of the veil”. It’s a very old word that has somewhat changed meaning over the centuries to be a dark time of trial and tribulation, bloodshed, destruction, pestilence and violence; where humanity is pretty much wiped out – the end of the world.

Hmm.. I’m not religious, but I can certainly relate to both those meanings in regards to the current situation on the planet.

Even in the biblical Apocalypse and other similar texts though, a new golden age follows. An end to something isn’t necessarily a bad thing, much the same as the Death tarot card (if you’re into that sort of thing) doesn’t necessarily mean all doom and gloom.

We *are* in an age of veil lifting – how many of us really understood some issues such as global warming just a few years ago; or about how much we consume? Many of us have learned a great deal about our impact on the planet and how we’ve been fooled into participating in that destruction. It’s a very empowering, yet humbling experience.

As for the darker meaning, well, I think we’re there too. You just have to read the news. Sure, these things have occurred since the dawn of humanity, but there certainly appears to be an uptick of woes – not just in human to human incidents, but the way that humans affect the environment and how it’s reacting. We read so much about disturbing things happening in the environment faster than expected or totally unexpectedly. 

Leonardo Dicaprio put it best I feel – “a convergence of crises” – that phrase sums it up very well. The incidents and phenomena we read about daily now on their own aren’t more than a “tch tch” moment as individual occurrences; but combined they are very serious food for thought. I think what we’re seeing now is the leadup to a short, sharp shock.

Dark times indeed. Or are they?

Some people feel that if this is my view, why do I bother with being concerned about what I consume, what I do and how it affects the planet. Wouldn’t it be better and easier just to eat, drink and be merry if it’s a foregone conclusion?

Not at all.. this is a training period for a new way of life post modern consumerism. Decisive action now may lessen the blows that Nature is going to dish out. This is also a time for teaching our children we got it totally wrong in the hope they can help fix what we wrecked.

I certainly see the possibility after the dust has settled of a golden age, the phoenix arising from the ashes. Not an out-there and off-with-the-pixies concept, but one whereby the environment is the centerpiece of human activity. A time where we don’t make demands of the land but ask what it is prepared to give us and be respectful of what it does provide. A greener life doesn’t mean one of deprivation; quite the opposite – it’s just the bounty will be different and that will take a little getting used to.

While change can be frightening, these things are what I hang on to and what helps keep me going in what can be quite insane world.

Don’t be afraid of the word Apocalypse – embrace it. I’m quite certain we are reaching the end of an age and while there is/will be pain and suffering to come, a great deal of it, I’m still confident there is a better deal for humanity as a whole ahead. There is hope.

Maybe you and I will be lucky enough to be a part of that new age or at least see the real dawn of it – I wouldn’t be at all surprised if we were the last generation to exist in this system of things.