In coming to the conclusion that the world may end on December 21st, 2012, many researchers appear to have glossed over certain facts, and embellished others. Chief amongst these seems to be that the Maya themselves are not actually warning us that the world will end at the end of the 13th b’ak’tun or era on their Long Count Calendar.
Certainly, if you look at the Maya as a culture that has survived until the present day, the belief system they have is that there will be many events which occur after the reset of their famous calendar. It has often been said that much of the prophecies and doomsday talk attributed to the Maya, is in fact a conglomeration of ideas and assumptions which are not their own, but which are based upon the bedrock of the Mayan calendar and their advanced astronomical prowess.
So given that we must assume certain things about the 2012 doomsday idea and the Mayan calendar link to it, what actually are the facts? For one, the calendar is definitely due to reset at some point, but some researchers believe this will only be at the end of the 20th b’ak’tun and not the 13th. This would mean something like another 2000 years to wait for those keen to see if the Maya are right!
In addition, the accuracy of the date of 21st December 2012 attributed to the Maya and those prophecies of Nostradamus amongst others, can be called into question. In what is surely a convenience, the date does appear to pop up a number of times in various prophetic works, but is this because of a human propensity to match the most convenient thing to something else? The phrase “self-fulfilling prophecy” seems appropriate, in that researchers may borrow the date from the work of another, and make the interpretations of the prophecy fit!
Lastly, there appears to be overwhelming evidence that points us down the path of 2012 representing the most likely date for an end of the world scenario. However, if we actually look at many of the works, such as those by the Maya, the Hopi and Nostradamus, we certainly see that the overriding feeling is that of change, not of destruction. In a similar misinterpretation to the meaning of the Death card in tarot, the fact that a global change may occur, does not automatically mean that life as we know it will be wiped out. In fact, many believe that this change will conclude the current age of man in terms of spirituality, and herald the dawn of a new era of such things.
In effect, December 21st 2012 may be a date to look forward to, and not to dread!