Practical Advice for the End Times

 Firstly, lets begin by stating the obvious.

The world is always ending.

It's all a relative thing, some of us are born into the "good times" while others of us are born into the bitter ending.

Where do you fall upon the continuum?

Since my teen years and after watching Star Wars and Lord of the Rings too many times, I began to wonder if the world was always in a state of boom and decay. The heroes ultimately become the villians whom become the heroes given enough time, ad infinitum.

So, how do we find a way to be at peace, or at least how to live in a neutral space when we are inundated with conflicting messages on how to live?

In the USA we are fed a steady diet of delusion. We are told that we are a nation seeking peace while engaging in wars. We are told we value health through organizations like the American Heart Association while being the sickest population on the planet. We are told that public education is the only way to learn, yet our system is on the brink of implosion.

What is it then? Is everything ending or is it beginning again?

Does it matter?

Being able to holding contradiction in tandem is the only way you can live in our technologically driven world. Can you silently give the middle finger to the USDA nutrition suggestions while forging your own path based on a mixture of ancestral eating patterns and modern wisdom? Can you see the shambles of Western Civilization but still appreciate the goods things we've done (though those "good things" seem to be trivial at times).

My advice for the end times, if I am even qualified to give it, is this:

1. Don't take everything so seriously. The world has ended before. Let's hope this time when it restarts it's solar powered and equanimous. 

2. Even if you have to do something you hate to "make a living" make sure that the other things you do are things you enjoy.

3. If you must buy things from Walmart and Amazon, attempt to buy the things that are better for your health and the planet's too.

4. Be kind, and if there are times when you cannot be kind, at least be authentic.

5. You are a little drop in a big ocean, so its not that big of a deal whether you succeed or fail.

6. You are not your past. You are not your thoughts. You are the awareness experiencing those things.

7. There are no NPC's; only other people trying their best to exist.

8. Learn some skills. It could be crocheting or how to build a fire. Do something that might be hard and see if you can do it.

9. Love yourself. If you can't do that yet, keep trying until you do (See this blog for tips)

10. Just know that if you are alive right now, in this moment, you are truly a miracle. Enjoy it if you can. If you can't, that's okay too, we aren't meant to last forever.