The Christmas season is here and I am very happy that so many of my friends and family are experiencing good fortune and positive changes in their lives. A lot of the people I know seem to have made conscious decisions to make changes and get on to the path of happy self realization. It is a bright spot of sky and sun during a dark and stormy time.

Some people I love have found beloved dreamed-of jobs. Some are battling addictions successfully. Many people have found a better clearer path to their ‘ best life’ after making tough choices. It is quite impressive.

But I can see still see the stress in people’s eyes and I can feel anxious auras wobbling around every individual. I feel constant ambient stress too, and for no good reason. Everything is, at the moment, alright.

I think that the stress that circles around us is entirely man made. Most of mine is emitted from my not so smart phone that is intertwined with my much too expensive new used car.

I was in my room chatting with a good friend the other day when my son turned on the car to warm it up. Suddenly I lost her voice to my car when the two smart objects connected, leaving me out of the whole synergy. My friend was talking into the cold emptiness of my car while I repeated hello, hello, into the ether. Smart car, smart phone.

I don’t want companies trying to guess my every move. I don’t want to have technology that carries all my data. We have created a monster. A looming, exacting monster that is always hungry for more. I would rather fear a wrathful god than be complicit in this move towards transhumanism. But here we are, in the breaking dawn of the fourth industrial revolution!

I find it troubling, as you see. The idea of a chip in my mind that could fed me ideas or allow people to read my ideas is my exact concept of a horrific nightmare. Worse than space advertising. Worse than enforced injections. My mind is a place of retreat. I enjoy it. The space in my mind cannot be occupied. I am pretty stern about it. I have taught myself to be immune to brand names. I am extremely forgetful on purpose.

If we move towards mandated mind altering chips inserted into the body, during my lifetime, and I think we can reasonably assume that we will accept some form of this new technology, I will resist. I will protest. And then, dark vision, I could be the protestor in prison facing mandated medication!

Will I choose death instead of complying? Not a problem. In our bright new future we will likely have graduated past offers of medically assisted death from our health practitioners to efficient ‘death drive thrus’ where we will be able to conveniently step off into eternity while leaving our organs to be harvested.

Let us also assume that we will be able to sign a waiver, if we have enough social credit, to pass the worth of our usable organs on to our children. However, if we owe money to the government, we will owe the government our organs as payment.

Meg, you say, Stop. You are bumming me out. No wonder you are stressed if this is where your mind goes. It is awfully dark. And not very Christmasy.

Sorry, but well, I am truly not far off the mark. Just check out what is happening in China. But anyway, I am going somewhere with this.

I started this blog with the observation that in this time of chaos and change, we see personal stories of reclamation and rejuvenation. People making choices that change their lives. People trying to break bad habits. People reaching out to each other.

Maybe this inclination to ‘live life now’ is simply because the darkness has allowed us to see the light. There is a glimmering recognition that these societal changes that we are observing will affect all of us. Some of us might be celebrating this fourth industrial revolution, and many of us will resist it, but it is rolling towards us with the power of a tsunami.

Recognizing that we are being swept up in a massive wave of change only highlights our desire to live our individual lives as well as we can. Life is impermanence. Ask the Buddhists. All our lives we struggle with that concept. I tried to look up some books on Buddhism in the local library last winter, and they were all out or back ordered. Every last one of us is struggling to maintain balance on this slippery new ground.

In order to save your self you must step out of your home, step into the world. The last few years especially have shown us that fear is imported. Humans being need to be connected. If you find yourself giving up hope on humanity, step away from the computer and go outside. Speak to someone and look into their eyes. Make contact. Be kind and feel kindness.

But let’s take this one step further. When humans reject the enforced isolation of this new world order, we are a force of nature. We have power. Gathering together and feeling our strength as mortal animals with limited life spans, that is our strength.

A current of energy is moving people, surging up from the earth. People are doing things they have never done before. Taking chances. Ending old stale lives and beginning anew. What will this energy lead to?

I am tempted to ask our local tarot reader what her thoughts are on this. She will say our collective energy swings are due to the movement of the planets, I suppose, and maybe she is right. Why wouldn’t the movement of planets have an effect on our earth and the animals that live there?

We are animals after all. We are part of the natural world. We need food, we have babies, we get sick, we die. We don’t hover in the world of ideas disconnected from our bodies.

There is a rising collective energy that may end up surprising those that think we can be controlled by the bright white light of the screen and the distraction of an online life. We are animals after all.