In a Year from Now
Posted: Tuesday, January 03, 2012
by Dianne Lehmann
Artisan Jewelry from SyZyGy
What will I be like a year from now? What will the world be like a year from now? What are the possibilities?
Well, for one thing, we'll all be a year older. Or if you believe what the physicists say, maybe not. They have this new take on time that says that all "times" exist right now and that our perception of time as moving along like a river is just not the way that it is. The whole thing is kind of hard to wrap my mind around. Time certainly seems to progress from point A to point B. I know for a fact that I've already been sitting in this chair for too much time … my rear end would really like for me to get up and walk around a bit.
Other than becoming one year older (and yes, I will just stick with that convention because to try to think of it or phrase it otherwise is much too taxing for my aging brain), I don't envision much changing for me in the coming year. I will still cherish the time that I can spend with my husband, Bernd. I will still visit with friends. I will continue to ride and adore horses. I will cook and clean and do the laundry. I will shop for groceries and run errands. I will pay the bills. I will see to the health and happiness of our cat, Winnie. I will do my best to increase the overall amount of happiness in the universe. Yes, I have a lofty purpose.
I do not foresee any big trips or vacations. There are no moves or new houses in my immediate future. Likewise with a car. Just the same old same old. And that is precisely the way I like it. Of course, I am not entertaining the thought of some calamity or other. While I do try to live each day as if it is my last, I do not dwell on the negative. Mostly. Just don't talk to me about it when I am having a hot flash. In those moments I'd be as likely to slap you as anything else if you were to go all Pollyanna on me.
As for the world in general, I think much the same can be said. The sun will continue to rise in the morning. There will continue to be strife somewhere in the world. There will continue to be people who have much and people who have little, and with any luck, most of us will fall somewhere in between. Politicians will politic, teachers will teach, manufacturers will manufacture and farmers will produce food.
Undoubtedly, the subject of the end of the world is bound to come up. After all, there is that nagging Mayan prediction hanging over our heads. There is always the possibility that the earth will end. It could happen in the very next moment … or sometime in December of this year. Or on my birthday. But that would be a bummer. I did, at one time, think that turning 60 would be the end of the world. I do think that all things are possible at all times … though some things are less likely than others.
So what's my take on the whole apocalypse thing? I don't think it's a world-ending-end-of-all-life sort of thing. I think of it more as a shift in perspective … the end of life as we now know it. Maybe I'm being too Pollyanna, but I've chosen to take a positive attitude. Of course, that's assuming that anything happens at all. Because if all things are possible, then it is quite possible that nothing novel, unexpected, untoward, calamitous or just downright nasty will happen.
Consider it from this perspective: your personal world ends each and every moment. With every tick of the clock (and yes I know that clocks are a totally human convention and probably have absolutely nothing to do with the true way that the universe works … curse you, physicists), the world you knew becomes the world awaiting. Consider this also: pre-existing conditions determine the future outcome of events. This is what makes forecasting the weather so difficult. And it is also what makes predicting future life events difficult. Even so, I feel a change is coming.
I think a positive change in attitudes by the multitudes of people of the world is in the offing. And why not? After all, the possibilities are endless.
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)Dianne, well said! I'm not so sure about the positive attitude by the multitudes but you are right. The possibilities are endless. We can only hope and pray for that one. You do pour out your heart in your writing and I love your optimism -- I'm much the same. I wake up rarin' to get going every morning.
Thanks for a great slant on the future.Hi Nancy.
I was talking with a friend just a few days before I wrote this. She wanted to know what my feelings were about the Mayan prophecy. She was a bit shocked when I told her what I thought. She told me that she hadn't heard anything so positive from any of the other people she had talked with about it. I found that troubling. If we are to change how people think, people have to change how they think. Kind of a Catch 22. But I do think it is possible. :)
So, you and I will just have to be extra positive to counteract all those who are thinking doom and gloom. :)
Thanks for reading!
Hugs,
Dianne
Lovely thoughtful article. My Mom used to say "the end is near for everyone, we only get three score years and ten, and a little more grace". And she also said: "People should not be thinking about the judgment day after death, they should think about how their behavior today is making them upset, angry and condemning". But still I guess, all of this talk gets people's attention doesn't it. I should move around too. Nice article.Hi Christofer.
Your mother was very wise. And yes, all this talk of disaster gets people's attention. After all, if we were all saying that everything was going to be completely peachy from here on in, there really wouldn't be much to talk about. "Hi. How are you? Lovely day we are having isn't it? Just like yesterday and just like tomorrow." :) I often think it might be true that a day spent without finding something to complain about is a day wasted. Well ... okay ... not really. But think about it. :)
Thanks so much for reading. I always love your comments too.
Hugs,
DianneIf there is going to be an incredible disaster of heard of extremes, no one is going to come out and make you a hero because your prediction was right. They are going to hate you. If you say you believe that everything is going to be OK, everyone will like you now, and they won't hate you later for not predicting it. Simple really.So ... why aren't there more people saying it is all going to be okay? Seems pretty dumb not to when you put it that way. :)Those are the people with real self-interest - bloggers, self described religious leaders, and people who are just generally really afraid. Then there are those who have an interest in a gloomy forecast - economists of a certain ilk. investors who make their money off the terrified, and those who just want to stir up the trauma of universal fear. I just told you why I take the approach I do - because I do not have a stake in the opinion.
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