The last two years, I went out on a limb and posted my predictions (here and here) about what would happen in the following year. I have to admit that my track record is not good. Seeing the future and calling it correctly is not my forte. I can make guesses, some educated, some wild, but that is about it. Therefore, I am discontinuing the practice this year and will not waste any more of my time trying to make it look like I have some window into the unknown and unseen.

However, I think it is quite safe to say that 2024 appears to be on a rough path and we will probably stub our toes often and may lose our footing during it. National governments everywhere seem to be struggling frantically to hold fractious pieces together and the US is no exception. Between politics, economy, inflation, immigration, the never-ending threat of war, and the very distinct odor of financial collapse, there is more than enough to keep us alert and on edge. Throw in the quadrennial circus of the “presidential” (s)election and the possibility that the country might irreconcilably split over the results just adds more uncertainty to the mix. “May you live in interesting times!”, as the ancient Chinese curse is purported to say.

I am going to give in to temptation here and make a comparison. I tend to view living in interesting times akin to driving a powerful sports car on a winding, mountain road which I have never seen before, not knowing what lies ahead around the next curve or rise, and going as fast as I dare, using the gas and brake to maximum effect. The exhilaration! The rush of adrenalin!! Sometimes, I have to pull over and spend a few minutes gathering my composure, getting my nerve back after a near collision or close call, yet everything is forgotten once the road is flying backwards under the weight of the tires and my foot on the accelerator. Of course, there is always the chance of an unrecoverable miscalculation which results in an unpleasant end to an exciting, adrenalin-filled drive…but we won’t talk about that right now.

Toad!

Most people, however, do not have what it takes to live that way. Instead, they prefer to back the grocery-getter out of the driveway, accelerate gently up to the speed limit (well, maybe only a little bit above it), and travel along with everyone else on a straight, wide, smooth boulevard or freeway. Calm, sedate, predictable, at least until someone else barrels through a red light and collides with another. We never think about it, though, and always expect that we will get to our destination safely and back home again without incident. Yet, in the back of our minds is the understanding that someone, somewhere, could wreak havoc on our own best laid plans and schedule regardless as to how safely we motor down the highway.

This is life. An existence of getting up every morning and getting through the day without incident. The more adventurous of us take risks the majority would blanch at and they are often soon gone. The controllers are constantly watching for violations of the “rules of the road” and waiting to take us to task because we didn’t “drive” the way we were supposed to. Most of us simply shrug our shoulders, fasten our seat belt, and hope to live through the journey, prosperously and peacefully, without ever thinking about it. Which is fine as long as traffic flows smoothly, but then something unexpected happens and our world is thrown into a state of chaos, confusion, and calamity.

And something always happens, especially in those societies which refuse to pay attention to the signs warning of danger ahead. Today, those signs are not simple black and white posters stuck on a post informing of the speed limit. They are huge digitized billboards, constantly flashing brightly lit messages which cannot be missed by anyone, yet we ignore them and drive on heedlessly. All that matters is the next pay raise, the next profitable contract, the next election, the next Super Bowl, the next war. Who cares what tomorrow brings? Eat, drink, and be merry! Build bigger barns because the harvest last summer was great! Expect to do better next year!! Until it all ends in a crash which destroys all the hopes and dreams lived for.

We are living in interesting times. I have no doubt about that. Nevertheless, I intend to carry on, without fear, knowing that the consequences of extremely bad living will catch up someday. Death, not only for myself, but also for the society we live in, is coming closer–one day at a time and there is nothing I can do except to accept it as reality and hope that I die peacefully at home with my family and friends around me. It may happen that way, may not. It does not matter.

Life, interesting or bland, is meant to be lived to the fullest. Drive on!