If you are reading this, chances are the first Mayan calendar prediction for the end of the world was wrong.
Now, we are still faced with the backup date of Dec. 25, but we suspect that on Dec. 26 we'll all be looking forward to the next anxiety-producing end-of-the-world prediction while eating turkey leftovers.
And there will be one - of that prediction we're pretty darn sure.
For some strange reason, human beings love scaring themselves. From visions of hellfire and brimstone to apocalyptic zombie tales, we're suckers for stomach-wrenching doomsday scenarios.
IEW CORD Those who have made a living out of analyzing human behaviour would have us believe that we are 'hardwired' to come up with scary tales. It is, they say, a way of kick-starting our survival mechanism. Perhaps, neanderthals drew pictures of mastodons on cave walls to scare each other. That was, of course, before they had vampire DVDs and roller coasters.
Some religions have made it a fundamental part of their belief system.
Others spring up randomly when some charlatan has just recalculated the biblical math and, lo and behold, the end is near - right after he has acquired all his followers' worldly possessions.
We don't know why folks have to come up with unlikely end-of-the-world scenarios when there are likely ones.
Climate change, North Korea's unpredictable insanity, loose nuclear weapons - heck, those seem scary enough.
Of course, the media doesn't make it any better. We're much like the cave-drawing neanderthals only now we've got social media to use along with our other scare-mongering tools.
The cure? Stop worrying about the end of the world, and start thinking about today. If it's your last, or your first - at least you've got it now.
