The Sky Is Falling...
But it's all gonna be OK
“It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine” - REM
Standing in the checkout line at the grocery store the other day, I overheard a conversation between a young cashier and a middle-aged woman with an overflowing cart filled with canned goods, bottled drinks, pasta, frozen food, and dry beans.
“Looks like you’re stocking up for the end of the world,” the cashier said to woman as he swiped the tenth can of tomato soup.
“Yep. The election is coming,” the woman said, as a matter of fact.
“Mmmm,” mumbled the cashier as he pushed a mountainous load toward the bagger.
“It’s gonna get real bad. You might want to stock up yourself.”
“Nah,” the cashier laughed and swiped the third box of frozen Klondike bars. “I’m just gonna come to your house for ice cream when the world ends!”
How many of us feel like the world is about end? How many of us are running around like Chicken Little, proclaiming with absolute certainty that “the sky is falling!” How many of us are stocking up or considering where to move to avoid the inevitable ensuing chaos?
I’ll be honest, I’ve been flabbergasted by the hyperbolic, catastrophic predictions floating around, claiming, in one way or another, that the world as we know it will end on November 5. It’s coming from talk-show hosts and journalists, pundits and podcasters, TikTok celebrities and Internet gurus. Otherwise rational people are building bunkers and buying ammunition. Even one of the most acclaimed theologians of modern times, who I otherwise respect, is touting the apocalypse with a new book entitled, Trump and The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ. (Meanwhile, some politician recently referred to Harris as the Anti-Christ during a Trump campaign rally. We seem to have two Anti-Christs!).
According to one side, we will soon be a Religio-Fascist nation in which all women will be forced to have babies in a real-life version of The Handmaid’s Tale, all children forced to pray unceasingly before school, and anyone who isn’t White, Male, Christian or Hetero-normative will be lynched on the spot. On the other side, we will soon be overrun by cat-eating, trans illegal immigrants who will steal your jobs and welfare checks, then kidnap your children and make them read books about how bad slavery was. Some of us are even cheering on the imminent end of the world. Think Rapture, End of Empire, a clean slate for a new Utopia of whatever flavor suits you.
Then, of course, the seas are rising and will drown us all; World War III is already starting; and someone, somewhere is about to drop a nuke which will wipe us all out.
The sky is falling! The sky is falling!
Now, don’t get me wrong. I am well aware that regardless of who wins the U.S. election, things are going to get weirder. I’m not saying it’s all hunky-dory or will be. Yes, it could get ugly, and it could get meaner than it already is. For some people, it could be truly horrific. No matter what happens, there will be outcry, protest and possibly violence. And it will likely continue into the next election, and the next. And yes, the potential of a wider war in Europe, The Middle East, or both is very real. More people will suffer and die, the storms will get worse and the floods more severe.
Things could get really, really dark and scary. They may already be dark and scary for some people.
But we need to get a grip on ourselves. Doomsaying isn’t helpful. In fact, it’s part of the problem. (But if you are one of those flailing around right now, deriving some kind of endorphin rush from the anxiety and fear, AND LIKE IT, then you can stop reading now.)
We need to get a grip on ourselves. Doomsaying isn’t helpful. In fact, it’s part of the problem.
In many spiritual traditions, prophets warned about dark times when people failed to head the teachings of God/Spirit. They predicted all kinds of catastrophes from destruction to exile, and in many cases, these things came to pass.
But by and large, they were talking about what happens when people forget the universal laws God/Spirit has set forth: things like kindness, mercy, generosity, humility, forgiveness, and service toward others. In other words, when people become self-interested, greedy, hurtful or arrogant, bad stuff can happen: Karma, Hell, plagues, floods, fires, death, or just unspecified destruction, misery and suffering.
But that’s not what our current naysaying is about. We aren’t being warned that if we don’t personally and collectively change our ways, things aren’t going to go well. We are being told that if the other side wins, the world will end. And we have to stop it!
Today’s false, fear-mongering Prophets of Doom are framing the situation in almost Biblical terms. It’s Good versus Evil, The Messiah versus The Anti-Christ, The Righteous versus The Wicked. This is a battle for the soul of the Nation, our souls, and the souls of all beings everywhere. But this kind of apocalyptic thinking keeps us mired in fear and duality. It prevents us from envisioning any alternative. It’s Us or Them, and everybody is screaming obscenities at each other, rattling sabers, and the hysterical tone is on the verge of Holy War.
But the saddest part is that we’re buying it. (Don’t forget to pick up an eternity’s supply of toilet paper when you go to the store.)
Without going into spiritual bypass, I’d like to propose another way of looking at our currently over-hyped situation that comes from the deepest roots of spirituality.
First of all, breathe.
Seriously. Take a long, slow, deep breath.
Don’t hyperventilate over a future that might not happen.
Sorry, but none of us has the master plan. It’s way above our pay grade. As much as you’d like to think otherwise, you don’t know what’s going to happen, and neither do I. It’s all possibility not probability. If we have learned anything, it’s that surprises are everywhere. (But if you do know what’s coming for certain, I could use the winning Powerball numbers, please!)
Now, take another deep breath. Let it out slowly. Drop your shoulders, unclench your jaw. Feel your feet on the ground, your butt in the chair. Be present right here, right now, which is where you are.
Look up. Notice that the sky isn’t falling RIGHT NOW. In this moment, the only thing to be afraid of is your own fear. In this moment, you’re fine. Check it out. You are breathing, safely reading this Substack post, possibly sipping coffee, right now, in this moment. Hordes of heathens probably aren’t banging on the door of your home. You’re totally safe right this moment.
Don’t you already feel a little more relaxed?
Then, consider this: According to every tradition, all things arise and pass. Most often, we are somewhere in the middle of that process. Look past the black-and-white, all-or-nothing duality and notice that everything is part of a continuously moving cycle somewhere along a spectrum of change. We’ve been doing this for millions of years now. Things have been continuously changing forever. This moment is just a blip in a long history that precedes us and will follow us. Whether we like it or not, we’ve been somewhere similar before (and the outcome this time around isn’t fixed).
That’s the way life on this planet— in this universe— works.
Every tradition from the Indigenous to Christianity – and even modern science - teaches this truth. The ever-evolving, continuously creative, non-stop process of change is the only constant. It’s the eternal modus operandi of Nature/God/Dao/Source.
“But…” I can hear you say. “What does that have to do with what’s happening?”
Everything.
Humans hate change. Especially change that happens against our will. We kick and scream and dig in our heels to prevent being dragged into whatever is happening next, fearing the worst. We tend to think any change is catastrophic, especially when our anxiety levels are already through the roof. This is why the Buddha taught that resisting change is the path to suffering. It’s why the Daoists teach “go with the flow,” and even the Bible says that there are things you just can’t fight. It’s “God’s Will.”
Even if we don’t ascribe to any spiritual teachings, we like certainty. We like thinking that we “know” what’s going on. It quells our anxiety, makes us feel like we have control and makes us feel safe. Even if what we think is happening or will happen is god-awful, at least we know!!!! (and can say, “I told you so!”)
But that certainty is an illusion. So is the control. Always has been, always will be. The truth is we don’t ever really know the future, the present now is all there every is, and change is the only reality. “Maybe” is House Rule Number One.
Think Big Picture, not just small one. Cosmic Time, not only human lifetime. Things are always changing. Sometimes in big, dramatic ways, but often in small, incremental, even unnoticeable ways. Nothing is ever static or fixed. It’s always moving. Even we ourselves change from moment to moment, and we can’t predict any of it with absolute certainty.
Sure, things might change on November 5 (or tomorrow, or in six months). No, things WILL change. One way or another. Some things might end. Some might begin. And then they will change again. It might get hard. It might get ugly. It might get dark. We may not like it. We might like it a lot. But then it will get easier. The sun will come out again. Then it will get dark again. And over and over and over.
If we can try to see everything that’s happening right now as part of a mysterious process of change that is much older, bigger, and more long-lasting than us, we might be able to see that we are just somewhere in a cycle of change, and that change is already in motion.
Instead of worrying that it’s all about to end in an epic hellstorm complete with fire and brimstone, let’s consider this period of time nothing more than a wave of change. It may be a tsunami or it might be a series of smaller waves, but whatever it is, we aren’t going to stop change; we just have to learn how to surf it.
It may be a tsunami or it might be a series of smaller waves, but whatever it is, we aren’t going to stop the change; we just have to learn how to surf it.
The prophets of ancient times (Biblical and others from all traditions) already taught us how to ride the inevitable waves of change: pay attention; be kind; be humble; be merciful. Release the need to control and go with the flow. Be flexible. Listen to your own inner voice. Do what you can. Let go of what you can’t. Take care of yourself and each other. Be compassionate. Be creative. Work together. Trust. Stay grateful. Keep going.
In other words, they gave us all those practices that help us survive and thrive no matter what happens (and, not surprisingly, are very much in line with the TEN WORDS I’ve outlined in my book). These are the things we have to do when things get weird, but we also have to do them even in calm times. It’s hard to learn to surf in a tsunami (and good luck thinking you can stop one). But if we have practiced and prepared ourselves in calmer seas, it’s easier when the big waves come.
It’s not too late. Start now.
Those are the prophetic voices we should be listening to —the ones that understood that all things change and taught us how to survive and thrive in the process—, not the fearful banshees of the airwaves wailing about the end of life on this planet if one side or the other wins an election. They want you to be afraid. Don’t let them work you up. Who benefits from your sleepless nights? Your broken friendships? Who gains when you bad mouth the other side with vitriol as bad as your “enemy’s?” Self-righteousness will not save any of us.
In his book, The Story of our Times, Ralph Atkinson says, “We live in times of massive change, a necessary element for our inevitable yet precarious progress. Never has there been a greater opportunity – and need – to participate in and take action on behalf of this unfolding process. A renewed commitment to our own spirituality is the only thing that will give us security – personally and collectively – in these changing times.”
A renewed commitment to our own spirituality is the only thing that will give us security – personally and collectively – in these changing times.
Sure, the ride might get bumpy, and you might have moments of doubt, fear or anger, and you’ll still be doing your best to take the kids to school, go to work, fold laundry, call Aunt Sally on her birthday, hang out with friends on a Friday night, and all the other mundane things we do every day even in the midst of chaos. And sooner or later, it will smooth out (at least temporarily). What’s the worst that can happen? In all likelihood, it’s probably not as bad as they say or that you imagine (this is when we need to rein in our imaginations!). And even if it is, it will change eventually.
In the meantime, hang on to what you know is real. Don’t panic. Keep your feet on the ground. Do your best to practice those things that help us ride the waves, even if it feels scary. Don’t make it harder for others. Help them if you can. Steady on. Breathe.
Trust that will all be OK in the end, whenever that is. It may not be all '“good” (depending upon your viewpoint or the moment), but that’s OK, too. The world doesn’t have to conform to your idea of “good.” Sometimes, it might really suck, and it might suck for you personally at times, but it is what it is, and that’s OK.
In fact, what if it’s all OK right now? Now and the next now and the next now, ad infinitum. This isn’t being a Pollyanna: ask the Buddhists.
Sit with that. When you think it’s all over (or about to be), try to remember that in some way — even if it’s just that you’re still breathing —, it’s still OK right now. It always has been and always will be.
This, too, shall pass. And so will the next thing.
But, if you are stocking up on canned goods, frozen pizza, ice cream and sodas, make sure to get enough for the rest of us.
Some of us just might come knocking on your door for ice cream, whether or not the end of the world happens.
That's great, it starts with an earthquake
Birds and snakes, an aeroplane, Lenny Bruce is not afraid
Eye of a hurricane, listen to yourself churn
World serves its own needs, don't misserve your own needs
— REM, “It’s the End of the World As We Know It”
Yeah sister 🙌🏽🙏🏽 excellent teaching