Nailing the Future to a Hologram

So, what's your plan for this year? Will you journey to the inner and outer worlds of your utmost desires, explore your potential, or fulfill a few of the top picks from your bucket list? Or more likely, will you continue your daily grind, working slowly toward your future goals?

Even if you didn't make a New Year's resolution this year, you probably at least made some plans. Like the majority of people, those plans probably include working toward stability, gaining slow but steady progress and perhaps an exciting escape or two from the daily grind that's gonna get you there.

I've recently become increasingly dubious of the ability for anyone to prepare themselves for the utter uncertainty that is more than certain to lie ahead. The world is charging into the unknown realms of technological expansion, societal shifts and environmental challenges, and we have no clue what's coming.

When I look at the vast capacity of life's near-infinite possibilities, it seems that even the very near future is unpredictable. Can we really make plans for 2011 considering current levels of uncertainty in the air; much less pretend to plan as far ahead as 2020?

Currently, I am so conflicted about the dichotomous presumptions that the different camps are relaying, I am considering giving up on planning altogether. One renowned analyst, Gerald Calente, says we'll be facing homeless dig-in's and civil unrest in the next few years, while others swear that the economy is "bouncing back." Al Gore's camp of global warming analysts say the earth is in shambles due to our mistreatment, while skeptics contend that climate change is part of a natural cycle. Then there are the ancient civilizations who predicted a great shift in 2012 based on galactic cycles, but modern astronomers seem uncertain as to the true significance of the prophesized galactic events. Regardless of which side you favor on these issues, the fact remains that future forecasts are guesswork, at best.

Computer scientists and quantum physicists are working around the clock to manifest the exponential technological growth evident since the dawn of the digital age. Their discoveries and inventions have the potential to reshape our way of life and our definition of reality. Imagine that holograms became an integrated aspect of our daily lives. This and other not-too-far-fetched ideas could alter the way we live so dramatically that we presently cannot even predict it.

The prevailing paradigm is stuck in the idea of constant and steady gain. Our societal norm remains steadfast that, the way to get ahead is get an education, work hard and find your proper place in society. Most people think of a good life as that of settling down, reproducing and building a good credit report so you can buy a big-screen TV.

You are nailing your future to a hologram.

My disparity with this approach is the glaring lack of consideration for the imminent and inevitable distortion of our existence. What I mean is that change is happening faster than ever, and you can't pretend that your house built on credit cards isn't going to collapse. Insurmountable indications are leading me (and others who are paying attention) to believe that some vast, sweeping changes are fast approaching, one way or another.

I'm not saying to panic or stress out any more than you probably already are, but I do think a wake-up call is in order. Why go on planning a life of steady gains in hopes of a distant reward that usually manifests more like a pressure-cooker filled with stress, debt and crushed expectations?

It's time to get up off the couch and live. There may be nothing we can do about galactic shifts or economic crises, but we can do something for ourselves. Recycling your plastic water bottles isn't changing anything. If our species really might not be around for much longer, shouldn't we just make the most of the last of it?

That's why I'm refusing to nail my future to a hologram. I know that if I'm lucky enough to survive, I will witness s sweeping changes of some kind in my lifetime. I hope for a large-scale positive shift in the coming decade. I will work towards international community and conscious evolution, but I will brace for the worst, always aware of the fragility of our existence.

Instead of representing a company, why not be your own an ambassador, seeking to understand tolerance and true happiness? See, go and know everything, assuming that nothing will be the same in the near-future. The insights and experience I will gain by removing myself from the paradigm will shift me into something greater than I can currently imagine, even if the world does not change at all.

I invite you to join me. Take a deep breath with me and simply claim your life as your own, for the sake of humanity. Agree to yourself to release yourself from your prisons, mental, physical or metaphorical, and really, actually enjoy life. Love with no demands, "follow your bliss" and take a chance on your own potential -these just may be your final years to do it.

"Ruin is the road to transformation." Elizabeth Gilbert