Large Fierce Mammal

Lately abbreviated to a trendy initialism – TEOTWAWKI – “The end of the world as we know it” is generally understood to be an extremely undesirable situation bringing about a catastrophically negative change in living conditions with no hope of ever getting back to the way things were. Events that would precipitate this, as well as outcomes that would actually fit the definition, are not as generally accepted as you might think. For the most part, when people use TEOTWAWKI, they are referring to non-Biblical Armageddon. This is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as: “… a dramatic and catastrophic conflict, especially one seen as likely to destroy the world or the human race,” although most will be open to expanding “conflict” to include any inconceivably massive cataclysm such as the natural one that is given credit for wiping out the dinosaurs. Dark sentiments indeed, to haunt sleepless nights and prey upon the mind. Think of the children!

But as a matter of fact, anything that enforces a decidedly negative set of long term consequences on any person or group of people can be said to have ended their world as they knew it. The breakup of a long term relationship, sexual assault, an addiction, business failure or bankruptcy, major illness or injury, death of a loved one, job loss, being defrauded out of your life savings, and indelible reputation damage are all examples of events that can have effects fitting the description of being the end of the world as you knew it. On a larger scale, war and natural disaster can precipitate any of the aforesaid consequences, singly or in any combination, for the populations of large territories.

In truth, the impact of a disaster must be measured in terms of its overall impact on those it affects, and all over the world, people experience their own personal Armageddon under the influence of single serving size disasters every day. Contrariwise, not all TEOTWAWKI experiences are negative, or even permanent. Some seek them willingly and pay for the experience – every winter, resorts in traditional vacation spots like Cuba and the Dominican Republic receive an influx of tourists who are there for the exclusive purpose of putting an end to their world as they know it, however briefly, served during their stay by people who go home every night to a life they call normal, but that would be considered TEOTWAWKI by their guests were they were to wake in the morning to find themselves abruptly and indelibly thrust into it.

There is a term I like to use that I learned long ago from a Lieutenant Colonel in the Canadian Army – mind geography. The things we rely on without thinking, that are so reliably there for us we treat them as constants; we build our mind geography from those. Intelligent people though I know all reading these words today to be, who of you hasn’t walked into a room during a power failure and turned on the lights out of reflex?  It’s not a reflex at all. The reliable presence of electrical power is a component of your mind geography. People and animals in our lives become part of it too, and their sudden removal changes things forever – but it doesn’t end them.

We humans are here today because our ancestors were better at adapting to change than change was at outpacing their adaptability. Some of them survived the last ice age wearing animal skins while hunting the Wooly Mammoth with weapons made of wood and stone. Upheavals happen – those that die die, and those that survive either adapt or die. Terrible to contemplate, but stupid to forget, and wasteful to drain valuable energy worrying about. Just be ready and adaptable so you don’t embarrass your ancestors.

Remember –

“As long as you are alive you will be subject to the vagaries of the universe, and no matter how well heeled, beautiful, or lucky you think you are, your life will always be as vulnerable to unforeseen influences, for good or for ill, as the ship of any ancient mariner. Ancestors with far simpler tools, but far more knowledge based fortitude. than most who think themselves entitled to whatever quality of life they have achieved as of today understood this – one does not aspire merely to survive; one aspires to LIVE to the best of one’s ability given the circumstances!” ~ Dark Sentiments 2011 – Day 21: The Intention to Live