It's here, at last! So many prophesies have been cast, so many books 
have been written, so many lectures have been given on this topic, the 
Winter Solstice 2012. What can we believe about the forecast of 
“Doomsday” (one of the many interpretations of the end of the Mayan 
Calendar)? I have always found this subject interesting and I believe 
that everybody should be aware of it because it actually concerns us 
all, mankind and life on the planet in general. It is a topic that 
should be looked at with eyes wide open, with an alert mind, a little 
logic, some intuition and a deep feeling.
 No one can deny that great changes have being taking place for quite 
some time and — it’s evident — at a greater speed than before. Such 
changes are happening all over the world and concern the 
physical/material level as well as the spiritual/psychological one. We 
keep on hearing about floods and earthquakes more often than in previous
 years, climate and temperature are behaving in a most unusual way. Many
 things seem to have lost their balance.
 The minds of too many human beings are totally immersed in a 
technological world that separates them more and more from reality, from
 positive feelings, from proper interaction. Furthermore, on an almost 
daily basis do we hear about scandals concerning corruption, betrayals, 
pedophilia, frauds, larceny and torture, shootings… Yes, yes, all these 
crimes have always existed. But, now, they seem to have become a daily 
news here, there and everywhere.
 Mankind is unhappy, dissatisfied, more aggressive than ever and the 
result is a dreadful turmoil that shakes the world from its foundations.
 Einstein said that the Earth’s axis will tilt and some remarkable 
consequences might be felt. Well, no one is considered a “prophet” here 
and now, and most dismiss such considerations as idle. “Doomsday”? Hard 
to say if it will or if won’t happen. TODAY is 21/12/2012 and, if you 
are reading these lines, it means that — at least up to this very moment
 — we are still alive, the world still exists and it has evidently not 
come to an end. But, probably, this is not even the really important 
point. I am deeply convinced that mankind has reached a stage in its 
existence where self-examination and self-assessment are of paramount 
importance. We must all find out what our true values are, what our true
 motivations are, what “life” means to us, what aspirations we are 
sheltering in our hearts, what we are willing to “do”. No one can afford
 to move forward with their eyes metaphorically closed. “Awareness” is 
be the new word/motto to which every human being should be encouraged to
 found his or her life upon. We need a huge leap into a new perspective,
 into a new way of perceiving reality, into a novel understanding of the
 real place each of us has in the economy of the Universe. Time has come
 to make meaningful changes. And we must do it, NOW! The survival of the
 world is, literally, in our hands.