From the author: The article was published in the newspaper "Petropavlovsk.kz" in October 2010. Man is a curious creature. Don’t feed him bread, but let him run ahead and find out what awaits him in the near or distant future. If we rank predictions that have interested humanity for centuries, then the topic of the end of the world will certainly deservedly take first place. We are not given the opportunity to find out this on our own, which is probably why rumors and gossip around the approaching universal cataclysm are so relevant. They fear the end of the world, they speculate on it, they refute it, they joke about it. Psychologists, meanwhile, are already noting a surge in neuroses associated with anticipation of a future event or fear of it. Meanwhile, time is inexorably running out, and the fateful figure - 2012 - is already looming on the horizon... In our opinion, it’s time to give earrings to all the sisters: to reason with the incorrigible skeptics who don’t care, fanatics of all kinds of predictions, and at the same time help those who are hindered by the fear of the inevitable live a full life today. Some oracles assure that the future is not a frozen matrix, and we always have a choice. And in this they are certainly right. Others talk about situations when nothing can be changed, that is, what is destined will inevitably come true. Oddly enough, they are also right. The fact is that throughout our entire earthly life (and even after it) we always have a choice, like a fairy-tale knight at a crossroads. While we are reading the inscription on the stone (presumptive instructions for action), we are free in our choice, but having chosen one of the roads, we immediately cut off other possibilities. On this path we have chosen, a million options again appear every second - as in the old joke, for example: will I get sick or not will I get sick. If I get sick, then again: will I die or not. If I die, then: to hell or to heaven... and so on. That’s why people pounce with such passion on newspaper horoscopes, even the stupid ones (sometimes you can’t understand who is bigger - the horoscopes or the readers), believing that they are simply obliged to tell us what to do: get married or not, sign a contract or not, fly by plane or go by train. We are constantly faced with a choice: buy - don't buy, sell - don't sell, read - don't read. Have you paid attention to how some people behave in the store? It’s as if they wandered in there just in case, and, already standing in front of the counter, they begin to choose: white or black bread, banana or apple, coffee or tea... These are from the category of chronophages, time eaters, which is neither their own nor someone else’s. they are not interested, just as they are not concerned about the near future. Such people don’t even need predictions. They reason something like this: why think about something that hasn’t happened yet? The other category, “don’t care”, on the contrary, tries not to think about anything at all. Again: why? All the same, after all, complete failure is planned... There are, of course, normal people who live the realities of today. Psychologically, they are the most constructive, and with the help of predictions they try to get an idea of ​​what awaits them as a result of certain actions (or inaction). In one of the regions, the construction of a new mineral fertilizer plant was recently solemnly laid. The action took place in front of a large gathering of officials, the state-ordered press produced a disciplined fanfare, diligently describing the bright prospects that were opening up. How did readers of all three psychological categories react to this information? The first - chronophagists - simply did not notice it or, after reading it, did not understand anything. The second - indifferent - immediately forgot: well, a plant and a plant - you never know there were many of them! And in the editorial offices of newspapers, calls began to be heard from those who were not indifferent to where to live and what kind of air to breathe. Official excuses about environmentally friendly production did not reassure them; people were interested in why they were not asked or warned, because any production produces waste that will go straight into the river, and for the fish living in it, the real end of the world will come. But so far there is no smell of any waste,on the contrary, it smells very pleasantly like big money. And people, ecology - all this, you know, is such a small thing... And then, when else will it happen! Is it necessary to clarify which of the three groups the initiators of such projects belong to? You don’t need to be an old-timer of Petropavlovsk to notice how “spitty” and polluted the city has become in the last few years. In such cases, they usually nod at the newcomers: they say, they’ve come in large numbers here, they’ve spread the dirt... Even if that’s the case, then why don’t any of you, city patriots, rub your nose at these “Varangians” and say: “Clean up after yourself!”? And were they the only ones who littered the surroundings of Lake Motley with mountains of garbage, turning the forests into a garbage dump? How did the city respond to this “don’t care” - declarations on television and accusatory photo reports in the press - and nothing more? Continuous questions, and it’s time for answers. One of the random interlocutors once noted a change for the better in consciousness: before, street lamps were immediately broken, but now nothing happens, they last for a while. Needless to say, progress is obvious. But recently, new - elegant and comfortable - stops were installed in the city. There is somewhere to sit and hide from the wind. Less than a month later, the plexiglass was broken and the walls were covered with writing. You can, of course, blame it on the newcomers again, but it seems that it could not have happened without local vandals. So it’s too early to indulge in optimism; perhaps attention is simply switching from lanterns to other objects. Another example. In the center of the city, under the noses of dozing law enforcement officers, unknown morons barbarously broke one of the sculptures decorating the avenue - a figurine of a girl whom the townspeople had managed to fall in love with and even named Nastya. They say that the author will restore it (and even put it in the same place) but from a different material. This is his right, he is the creator. Now imagine yourself in the place of our Supreme Creator: what is it like for him to see his best, but, unfortunately, self-mutilated creation - man? Isn’t it time to…reconstruct it too? If you really love your city and appreciate its purity and natural beauty, who else but you should protect it from barbarians? “What can we... - the average man will habitually whine. - Who will listen to us...” One, maybe no one, but it could be voluntary detachments of the “green” squad or. Get organized, give yourself powers - no, don’t fine them or put them in jail, but force them to clean up the trash after themselves - that’s a must. Another good option is to organize several city stands following the example of the Soviet ones “The police are looking for them,” just call it differently, say, “They are disfiguring the city.” We assure you: psychologically it will work, even if not right away, but it will definitely work. So they will break the stands, they object to us. They can, of course, but what time are we living in? We duplicate the idea on the Internet, create virtual stands. Surely no one will break it there. You don’t need much money for this, the whole world chips in a penny, and you can grab such a resource - it will light up all over the world!.....Now let’s do a little visualization. Imagine yourself hovering above the place where you are now sitting. Here you see your room from above, yourself with a newspaper in your hands. Even higher, and you are above the city, which can be viewed as a map of the area. The horizon has already curved, the clouds have gone down, in another moment, and the whole planet is in full view. Strain your eyesight, looking down: who is swarming on its surface, swarming carelessly and sloppily, shitting right where it eats, like... cockroaches in the kitchen, when the owners are not looking. By the way, have you ever experienced this nightly feast, from which nausea rises in your throat, and only one desire dominates: to take this table abomination to the trash chute in one fell swoop, maybe even along with the tablecloth! Same thing. And cockroaches would call it the end of the world. Agree: one can understand the Creator in his desire to stop an unsuccessful experiment and start a new one... However, let’s return to the earthly environment that surrounds us. She is, after all, the very “light” whose end, according to predictions, has crept so close! Some people scare us with a universal catastrophe, others -.