The things we can’t imagine

Once in a while, something comes along that changes the game. What you worried about yesterday is suddenly no longer important at all. The thing that occupied your mind is suddenly forgotten.

Sometimes we discovered we’ve been worrying about something trivial when we should have been focused on other problems. It’s like a guy who’s obsessed with the paint job on his car, in a panic at the slightest blemish. One day the engine drops onto the road. Suddenly, real problems must be dealt with. Nothing like a really big problem to make the little ones disappear.
Problems are sometimes outgrown. Do we still worry about crap that happened to us in the 6 grade? We get over that person who rejected us, the job we didn’t get, the toy we could not afford, or the way we were raised even. Time can heal. We mature and get perspective.

Then there are the game changers, the things we never saw coming. It could be an idea, a cultural change, or a scientific breakthrough. Ten years ago who’d have though we could be commenting about a black president’s stand on gay marriage by using a social media on a smart phone?

What will the future bring? Who knows, but you can bet there will be something from out of the blue that changes the paradigm. A massive EMP event taking out the grid would certainly change our focus. We’d have real big issues to worry about. It could be come popular to be a government whistle blower (they do get all the girls.) A better economic model could replace the one that’s creaking along right now. Really cheap, really efficient alternative energy devices could become common. Heck, for all we know an evil villain in his secret volcanic island lair could be plotting something nasty, or some saint plotting something nice.

So what’s the point? The point is, things are going to be different. Our concerns are going to be different. Weird stuff is going to go down. Expect it. Keep your eyes open for new things. The future will not be like the past. If you are on top now, don’t take it for granted. On the bottom? Take advantage of things to put you in a better position. Be flexible. Accept your current level of ignorance.

Change is going to happen, maybe pretty darn quick too. Don’t get so invested in “the way things are,” that you aren’t ready to jump.

What’s going to happen? I’ve got no freaking clue.

-Sixbears