The End Of Times

I talked a lot about the end of the world and the apocalypse. This is of course meant only symbolically. It's a metaphor for losing all connection to worldly affairs. Many people are tied up in things such as society, work, hunt for money and fame, consumer attitude, family, friends, etc. And you can get nowhere if your mind is stuck too much in these things. This of course doesn't mean you should quit your job and live like a hermit (but feel free to do it if that's what you want). It's about losing attachment to the world on a mental, not on a physical, real level. This complex relationship between attachment, detachment, mind and reality could fill a series of books alone and it's hard to explain. I think something that Max Stirner said describes it the best: there is no "salvation" in worldly matters. Your job might give you money to pay your bills. It might even satisfy you. But it will never lead you to any truly meaningful or profound state of mind. And this goes for all other worldly affairs too. A little bit of fame might feel nice - but it won't give you peace of mind in the end.
If you loosen your attachment to the world bit by bit, eventually you will reach a point where it feels like you lose all of the world. And this is the metaphor I mean when I talk about the end of the world.
To explain this metaphor a bit more. The well known and cult science fiction author William Gibson grew up as an orphan. He once said that when his parents died, he not only felt like he lost his parents, but he felt like he lost the whole world. He was in a completely unprepared, strange, new situation that felt dangerous and incomprehensible. But this was the prerequisite for him to become a great author. He really lost the world - on a symbolical level - but he gained a new life.
Everyone who has accomplished something truly meaningful and profound has experienced this very own "end of the world" at least once in his life. Even most people who attained something out of the ordinary, but something of lesser acclaim (because it's material), such as becoming a billionaire or a rockstar experienced this.
You just have to go through this and you have to face this - unless you want to be stuck in a boring life for all time.
So do not be afraid of the "end times".