The fortold future

Stocks plunge to record lows. New mystery ailment kills hundreds of thousands. China and Islamic leaders unite. North Korea Bombs US. Roaming bands of violent youth clog American and European streets. American President removed from office due to emotional instability. Free Speech and the Constitution no longer in effect, to mention only a few of the terrible and unbelievable predictions from reliable and not so reliable sources.

No one really knows what the future will hold but the ability to read the signs of what might occur has been available for some time. There have always been a few who claim the ability to see a bit more clearly than the rest of us and in some circles there are those who actually have an ability to foresee the future. But the issues with future sight invariably comes down to the culmination of future events. Until those events come true they are simply predictions, dreams or unreadable words scribbled on some forgotten wall.

We have had books written by lauded authors that have done their homework, like Mega-Trends by John Nesbitt or The Demographic Cliff by Harry Dent, both were able to decipher some the trends that eventually were proven more right than wrong, on singular issues, but overall their abilities have yet to show continuity leading us back to the understanding that because of the fluidity of the future and the ever changing landscape of the present predicting events not yet realized is virtually impossible.

Will the stocks plunge to record lows, probably at some time in the future. Will humanity be faced with some mystery ailment, most likely. Will China and Islam unit or will North Korea start dropping bombs on the US, who knows, but there are indications of all the above, signs if you will of future events that if they occur will have devastating consequences on our future present days. We have already seen roaming bands of violent youth clog our streets and the streets of Europe, giving some credibility the future claim of such an event.

These events, these future events may seem impossible but are they improbable, is it just a matter of time? If we look to the past we can see events that support the events of the future. Stocks will plummet, it’s happened before and therefore it can happen again. In the past European humanity suffered a loss of nearly 1/2 of it’s population through some unexplained milady. The plagues, now treatable, infected large bands of people who were unaware of the issues they and others were facing. We have had scares of like scenarios, the AIDS scare, the Avian Flue, Ebola etc...and there are others waiting in the wings to decimate the population.

China and Islam partners? The politics of the world have seen less likely associations and in some regards this partnership has some merit, especially from the maniacal minds of the radical Muslim and the plodding, patient Chinese as they come together to rule over vast areas of geography. North Korea’s future is fairly easy to ascertain. They will either perfect their plans for nuclear delivery or they will not. They are a nuclear threat as is Iran and knowing that and understanding their angst angst the west will in all probability lead to some form of conflict. I don’t really think it matters who says what about when or even if they’re right now and again. What matters is what are we doing now to prepare ourselves for that unknown future.

My youngest daughter is a bright and talented young lady who has developed a level of self that to her mother and me is a bit on the self-indulgent side. You would think that after 10 children we would have learned how to deal with this particular emotional, intemperance. We should, you would think, be able to see the signs and predict certain behaviors based on past experience, you would think. But the more we try to ponder over these instances the more confused we get and the more flummoxed we get and the more critical the situation gets.

Our simple conclusion is that she needs to figure this out, on her own if need be in order for her to learn those very important life lessons that can never be foretold or predicted. Is there a risk of failure, a very real one exists in fact and it is that fact that scares us the most. What will her future be, what will her consequences be for the acts she takes, even if she is not fully aware of those consequence ?

Like those who currently roam the streets looking for avenues of violence, they are for the most part unaware of how their actions will negatively effect their future, nor how what they are not doing may have a profound effect on those unknown opportunities. For it is within this paradigm that most of our worlds problems exist. "Yea, and there shall be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be well with us." Book of Mormon (2 Nephi 28:7) Meaning that today is all we know, forget about tomorrow and who cares about yesterday.

We may not know the future but we can certainty prepare for it. We can be aware of the cause and effect relationship between our actions and the opportunities that follow, positively and negatively. We can chose to live our lives with magnificence and nobility knowing that by so acting we are invoking the blessing of positive self worth, God or the Great Spirit. Even if you’re an atheist you understand the power of service and good will toward others.

I truly believe we can effect the future in profound and meaningful ways, not only for ourselves but those we can influence. In order to do so we must first grapple with the destructive conflict between the selfish or selfless attitudes that prevail in our lives. Once we have conquered that battle within us we can turn our attentions toward other battles and causes.

“‘Remember, young man, example sheds a genial ray which men are apt to borrow. So first improve yourself today and then your friends tomorrow.’” Unknown