[mikefertynnz]

oh, wander-man, too rich.

but that doesn't address what might be up for mellisamouse.

consider this: while everyone is concerned with what specific timeline they might end up in, to me it seems that the culminative idea of 2012 would be the juxtaposition of all timelines.

here is my current best understanding. you are in a raft in the middle of a lake. you choose a shoreline to head toward. you paddle and paddle. after however long a time you approach the shore, and the ripples from your paddling and your raft have finally bounced from the shore and returned to you. now, the closer you come to the shore, the faster the ripples return to you. at a point, the ripples are returning so quickly you can barely discern one from the other.

and then, all ripples meet at the shore. the ripples, the water, the shore, the raft, and the rower all become one.

perhaps, mellisamouse, the confusion is that you are not on one timelime, you are already riding many ripples at once!

my blessings to you. trust, and push off into the river!