We all know that we live in a dangerous world. We also know that it is more dangerous now than ever in human kind. Add to this the “Doomsday Clock” that was apparently created in 1947. It considers two main factors leading to the absolute demise of human kind and our planet earth, as we know it today. One is a nuclear catastrophe and the other is the eventual impact of climate change. Either one is considered a major threat, but both together, which is a real possibility, would be an unimaginable disaster threatening our human civilization. The experts who study all this have concluded that climate change is nearly as big a threat as that of a nuclear disaster.
A group referred to as the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists was formed in 1945 and they are the apparent keepers of the “Doomsday Clock.” The catastrophic hour is midnight and two ticks to read 11:55 PM recently advanced the clock. It is reported that this recent setting of the clock is only the fourth time it has been reset since the Soviet collapse in 1991. The good news is that it was set to 11:53 PM in 1947. At this rate most of you who are reading this letter should be dead or almost dead before the clock hits midnight, but hold on this is not your normal clock. It has been as far away as 17 minutes right after the fall of the Soviet Empire. So this clock can go either way. The closest it came to midnight was 11:58 PM in 1953 when the US successfully tested a hydrogen bomb.
So what is the “Doomsday Clock” really telling us? In short, human kind will be the masters of their own demise, but we also have the ability to slow down the process. Many of us do that on a regular basis by exercising and living healthy life styles. Equally as many people have bad habits like smoking, drugs, alcohol and eating too damn much of all the wrong foods.
For my part, I can tell you that my “Doomsday Clock” will hit midnight long before the world’s “Doomsday Clock.” That’s why I live each day as if it were the last and I would suggest you do the same. Life is good. What is the point in worrying yourself to death about how you live? I was once told that those who run everyday would live five to ten years longer than those who don’t. The problem is that in a lifetime they will spend most of that five to ten years running. It may be better to kick off a little early and save your breath.
It is your choice because ultimately we will be the masters of our own demise. I know I am on the last chapters of my “Book of Life.” Regardless, I intend to read on until I have read the last word on the last page of the last chapter. God willing, I may even close the book and set it away forever.
Have a Great Day! Life really is Good.
