What if the world will end tomorrow? (Printed in FOCAL Magazine Issue 202)

What you will do? A question that most of us has no ready answers. We are so busy with our lives that we forget that this life might end in an instant. We are so busy that we sometimes forget to breathe and see where are our lives are going. So caught up with our unending pursuits and wants that we forget to remember and value what matters most in life. Is it my family? Is it my job? Is it my status? Is it my accomplishments? Is it my wealth? We have lot of things to worry about.



I know this question is quite difficult to answer as we taught to behave like we are infinite beings. But is it better that we sometimes take a pause in our life and really ask ourselves where are we going?



As I am preparing to write this article and trying to take a formation of ideas in my mind as to how I could present this idea better, my boyfriend Bryan is trying to know what is inside my head. By the way, we both watched the movie “2012” that gave me inspiration to write this article. As we are entering into a conversation and him trying to give his idea on this subject, I asked him if he could write this article for me instead because I wanted to know if our ideas were the same. He was surprised but in the end approved my request.



So here is his article explaining this subject.

“What if the world will end tomorrow? How would you spend your last day? Would spend your last hours sharing memories and reminiscing with family and friends? Would seek out the people you had wronged and reconcile with them? Would live your last moments in contemplation and peace, or a frenzy of indulgence and hedonism? Would you see your life as time well spent, or would you look back on your life with sadness and regret? Could you make your peace with God?



Last Night I watched the movie “2012” with my girlfriend Nenette. For those of you haven’t seen the movie in theaters (or haven’t seen a pirated version on your computer), I will give you an extremely brief synopsis: The world is struck by a series of cataclysmic natural disasters, and there is no possibility of escape or survival for the vast majority of the population. A small number of billionaires and government leaders make use of their wealth and power to make it to safety, but for 99.99% of the human race there is simply no hope and no chance of making it to safety. Billions of people perish in earthquakes, mega-tsunamis, and other natural disasters. Entire cities are annihilated by earthquakes or consumed by volcanoes, or simply swept out to sea by waves the size of skyscrapers. The cities and monuments we spent hundreds of years erecting are destroyed in an instant.



Nenette and I enjoyed the movie. We were captivated by the intense action sequences and breathtaking scenes of destruction and carnage. But after the credits rolled (and we shut down the laptop), we were left to toy with the hypothetical situation, “What if the world was coming to an end? What if we could not escape it? How would we spend our last moments?”



I think that most of us would choose to spend our last day with our families and friends. Even those of us who have strained or troubled relationships with some family members might take comfort in the feeling of belonging that comes with being part of a family. And a reunion with family and friends would make possible the apologies, confessions, and reconciliations that would allow us to have some closure. After all, you are not going to see these people again (in this world, anyway), so you might as well make up! Or at least be honest!



I am sure there are also some people who would choose to spend their last day on earth indulging themselves in sensual pleasures, both licit and illicit. Since the world is going to end tomorrow, you might as well throw that diet out the window. If you have been trying to cut back on the alcohol, I think we can all forgive you for one last end-of-the-world binge. If you use drugs, you won’t have to worry about an overdose, because you will be dead soon anyway. And you won’t have to worry about being arrested by the police - I am sure the police have their own families, and they have better things to do with their last day on Earth than haul you off to jail. They might even come and join in with you! For those people who been practicing celibacy and abstaining from sex before marriage, you can either bend the rules a little bit, or you will have to find that special person and get married REALLY, REALLY, QUICKLY! (I would not be surprised if there were a rash of end-of-the-world proposals and marriages.) On the positive side, at least you won’t have to worry about birth control. If you are an adult and you manage to maintain your virginity until the end of the world, you can certainly commend yourself on your exceptional (perhaps superhuman) devotion and piety.



Our last day on earth would also be a chance to reflect on our accomplishments, as individuals and families, as communities, nations, and perhaps even as a species. Would you feel proud of the life you had lived, or would you regret the time and opportunities you had squandered? Of course this is a deeply personal question, and your answer would depend on your age, your goals (and how much effort you exerted in reaching them), and your attitude towards life in general. But in this department, a stack of diplomas and a wall full of awards is no guarantee that you will be satisfied with your life. If you struggled and suffered your whole life to get an education, to build a business or a career, and to acquire material possessions and wealth, you may end up feeling cheated that all these things are going to be destroyed, and that you won’t be able to pass them on to your descendants. Even if you have a great deal of accomplishments under your belt, if you did not enjoy the experience of achieving them – you are bound to be disappointed. But if you enjoyed your life and cherish the relationships you shared, you are more likely to look back on your life with satisfaction and contentment.



We don’t need to worry just yet: We have no reason to believe that this world will end any time soon, and we would like to believe that we could struggle against any impending disaster – at the very least, to find a way for ourselves and our families and survive. But it is GUARANTEED that our individual lives on this planet will come to an end (and sometimes sooner than we expect). It might do us some good to reflect on this truth from time to time, and to improve our behavior and repair our relationships while we still have the chance. We don’t have all the time in the world!”



I hope his version touched something in you as it touched mine because if you will ask me what I will do if this thing would happen tomorrow, I would do the same. I will spend it with my family, we will have a Thanksgiving party for our meaningful life that happened, for the wonderful family I have been blessed with and with a knowing that somewhere out there, we will be together again, forever.