What Money Is Really Worth
When the last days of the earth arrive, it most likely that not too many people will be worrying about things such as where the money for their bills will be coming from, or if they have saved up enough cash for retirement. This is primarily due to the fact that, according to most scientists, by the last days of the earth all life will have been long since gone. By the time the sun begins to enter its death throes, it will already have made the earth far to hot for life to exist. Well, at least you won’t have to worry about whether or not you have too many free radicals running around in your body.What this is pointing at is this: for much of recorded history, human populations have been intrigued by end-of-the-world scenarios. We haven't simply put up with such tales, but have actually been willing to give our free time and hard earned money to hear them. Such tales of the apocalypse are free of cultural boundaries, found around the world and throughout history. Perhaps the most famous of these is found in the Christian Book of Revelations, but it is far from the only one, or the oldest.
The Norse have the tale of Ragnarok, or "fate of the gods" in which the gods, giants and assorted monsters of Norse mythology have their final battle, ending the world. The ancient Zoroastrians wrote in 500 BC of an all-consuming fire that would end the world. Judaism has the Acharit hayamim, or "end of days" in which a final battle will result in peace for the survivors. The Hindus have a series of yugas, in which the end of one yuga is followed by the beginning of the next (according to this, we are currently in the Kali yuga- the most evil of the yugas). Regardless of which one looks at, it is at least clear that most people will be free of the stress related to a lack of cash, or other money matters, as most of us will be free life itself.
Perhaps we are so intrigued by end-of-the-world scenarios due to the fact that it is a wiping clean of the slate, so to speak. The end of the world can mean ultimate freedom to many people, even if they are not aware of this sense of relief that so-called "end-time"’ stories fill them with. No longer do we have to stress over money, relationships, work, school, or anything else. We are free of all responsibility. These stories give us a sense of the ending to our toil and stress.
Who needs to worry about cash if the world could end tomorrow? There is little worry over personal responsibility in these stories, as it is usually a battle amongst gods or archetypes of good and evil, or simply the cyclical way of the universe. The end of the world is ultimately a vision of being set free, in a manner in which nothing can be done. And perhaps the best part is that, while it will free us in a great cataclysm, it is still always far away enough that we don't have to worry about it today.
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