I for one think that there is reason to believe that something will happen, but I don't think it's based on anything to do with a hazy unspecific prophecy. About 15 years ago I read something that mentioned that on 21 December 2012 all life on Earth would be snuffed out by a huge solar flare, and that very fact was mentioned somewhere in the Maya calendar or something closely related to it from that era.
There is some astronomical evidence to support this theory, that has to do with our solar system passing downward (a relative term, obviously
) through the "galactic equator" (the mid-point of the cluster at the centre of the galaxy in a level plane spreading in every direction along the various spiral arms) around that time, which in addition to some manner of coincidental and poorly timed alignment of certain planets will cause some sort of disruption to the sun's magnetic field which will generate an enormous blast of radiation from the surface of the sun which will head toward the Earth and irradiate every living thing on the planet.
Whether this evidence has a scientific basis or is merely paranoid fabrication by people seeing patterns where none exist, I don't know. But it interests me that a number of world mythologies and theological expositions end with a fiery doom engulfing the planet. The book of Revelations in the Bible speaks of the world being engulfed in flame come Judgement Day, and the end of the battle of on the plain of Vígríðr in Ragnarøk comes when the fire giant Surtr sets the world ablaze with his flaming sword. Coincidence? Maybe.
The Chinese Book of Changes, the I Ching, has also been analysed to show that the cycle of time detailed therein comes to an end on December 21st 2012. How does one explain these overlaps in predictions from cultures scattered all across the globe? [...]
I myself find it somewhat motivating. I have no idea if it'll happen, and I don't know whether I believe all this stuff or not, but when I started thinking a while ago that maybe we only had three years left, I want to make the absolute most of that time.
Then I really got to thinking about the fact that ANY given day could be my last, so there's no excuse for wasting time and squandering the precious years I have on this planet. I think that is part of what Norse mythology represents [...] The Æsir
knew that they were going to die in the final battle, without any doubt at all, but they didn't curl up in a corner and say, "Oh, what's the use? We won't win the battle, so why even bother?" They spent their time doing what they had to: looking death in the eye, they resolutely went about preparing to fight and refused to give into despair or worry. They didn't know when it would happen exactly, but they went about their work and marched head on to meet the inevitable when it loomed before them.
It's an amazing allegory for human life: we all know death awaits us at the end, but how will we choose to spend the intervening time? Do we give in to fear and let it rule us, wasting the short time we have here, or do we face our fears and take on life with courage and bravery, knowing at the end that we have lived life the way it was meant to be lived, dying with (metaphorical) sword in hand, never surrendering to our anxieties.