
Necessity is the Mother of Invention along with Don’t Spit into the Wind are the two sayings that I feel characterize the coming years after our recent break with reality. Coming to a hard stop across the planet has induced a kind of time-warp and re-evaluation of our individual circumstances. Since gathering in groups is frowned upon right now, looking into the depths of our psyche is nearly our only option. I also think it is long overdue.
To believe our lives will go back to the way it was is as fruitless as spitting into the wind. I ask of us all: would we really want everything back to the way it was? To everything there is a season and for a number of things that season is over. We can express gratitude for the things we enjoyed but also for the items we endured past their expiration date. Now we can make plans for what we want to experience next. From all indications, the individual instead of the group will be expressed and uplifted. I offer my views on the coming trends of the next 10 years.
Our work:
Businesses that have offices but no foot traffic that accesses their services will see a growing awareness that “working from home” is a cost-efficient option. Indeed, many companies have utilized this strategy for the last 10+ years. Now that personnel has tried it out, there will be more demand for this opportunity.
Businesses that manufacture or assemble items will become more automated. Employees will have the opportunity to learn skills that run, program or maintain this equipment. Talented individuals will engineer robotics at a much larger scale than used even now. AI will have the ability to anticipate problems with the quality of the product and troubleshoot issues with the machines. 3D printing will also become more prevalent, even for in-home use.
Cottage industries such as hand-built and hand-made items will become valued for their character and story. One-of-a-kind items will be elevated to art status. Service businesses such as personal care, vehicle maintenance, repair shops, along with other areas will continue but there may be more instruction and products geared toward how we can do these things for ourselves.
Shopping:
Retail along with food stores will continue with online sales and personal shoppers. Boutiques will replace the large discount stores where personal service will be valued. Specialty items, where you can try before you buy, will be another trend. After you know your size, your favorite flavor, or the ability to check the quality, you will be directed online in the shop or at home to make your purchases. Inventory will be warehoused, much like Amazon does now, or constructed/assembled when ordered. Consumerism at its pre-Covid19 level will wane. Supply chain disruption will occur with many needed items moved to local suppliers. Quality items that last or can be easily recycled will be in demand. Local industry that provides these needed items will grow.
Education:
Expertise in a subject will be needed but also an all-around knowledge of how to manage our time and resources. Working from home opens up the need for more tech-savvy folks to innovate and invent new ways to connect. Knowledge will become the new consumer product. Online classes and courses will explode and so will the tutorials from experienced people to teach those skills. Brick and mortar schools will be seen as an expensive product. Online K-12 and universities will see a rise as well as specialized schools, weekend workshops, and technical training centers.
Small groups learning skills that require more hands-on expertise will become the norm. Credentialing will be limited to professions that demand oversight such as medical doctors, nurses, lawyers, accountants, and the like. Certifications will become widely accepted. Homeschooling will rise as well. This won\’t be limited to mainly religious education but be a viable option for a variety of people and abilities. With legislation stalling the formation and utilization of Charter Schools and school vouchers for school choice, folks will find other avenues. Parents may form private co-ops to teach their children.
Medical Care:
Within the next 10 years, we will have some kind of emergency medical coverage for Americans. This would include emergency vehicle and work-related accidents, major organ emergencies such as heart attacks, kidney stones, appendix issues, strokes, etc… Healing Centers and Naturopathic Clinics will spring up as a more natural way to get well. People will be more willing to take their healthcare into their own hands. There will be medical clinics like we see now but there will be many more wellness options to choose from. Specialty schools, trainings, and workshops to teach others how to manage their own health will flourish. Most allopathic care will wane as people become healthier and take charge of their personal care.
Living Spaces:
With the advent of working, shopping, and education accessibility from your own home, a dedicated space for some of those activities will be a must. Families will be smaller due to falling birthrates so that a third bedroom can easily be converted to this space. Rural towns will become more appealing and living in the city will most likely be relegated to those who own businesses there. Food gardens will be commonplace. New hydroponic systems, vertical gardening, rooftop plantings along with dwarf varieties of fruit trees will be widely used. Composting systems will be offered in new home builds.
Food:
With more people working from home and having no commute, making meals at home will be back in style. Having fresh ingredients at hand along with the ability to experience social-media cooking channels and streaming gourmet chefs right on your tech device will make it more appealing. Food co-ops where you subscribe to farm-fresh produce and meat will be an attractive option. By cooking our own food, our health will improve as well. Industrial farming will wane. Governments won\’t be supporting that kind of food production. Folks will be taking a hand in what they put into their mouths.
Transportation:
Self-driving cars or anti-gravity propulsion vehicles will be commonplace as will self-driving mass transit buses/subways in larger cities. Personal vehicles will be mainly used for longer trips such as into the city to visit/shop or across the country for pleasure. Smaller vehicles similar to golf carts or three-wheeled bikes will be used for shorter trips. Vehicles will use electric, plasma, or perhaps cold-fusion motors and generators. With fewer drivers on the roads, our infrastructure will be better maintained and need fewer repairs overall. Tractor-trailer rigs hauling goods across the country will be phasing out in favor of making items closer to each area of the country. High-speed electric trains may take over some of the transport that big trucks used to do as well as passenger services. Local supply chains will be valued using local personnel and resources as much as possible. Air travel and cruises will change. With more cost-effective energy, airlines & cruise ships can afford to take fewer passengers but offer more luxury to entice folks to use their services. Long-distance travel will wane for the next 6 years but will resume after that with new improved ways of getting places.
Energy:
Fossil fuels will wane over the next several years as newer more efficient means are put into use. Present-day solar and wind will be relegated to the US southwest and the coastlines respectively. Geothermal technology, plasma, cold-fusion, hydrogen gas, and other exotic fuels are on the horizon for possible widespread use. If experiments pan-out with Space Solar Power Incremental Demonstrations and Research (SSPIDR) in the newly formed Space Force, there is a possibility of collecting solar energy, converting it to radiofrequency, and then beaming it down to a projected generating station to provide power. The military will utilize it first but it could eventually make it into everyday use.
Communication:
Satellite-based internet public utility with military oversight is a possibility for future communication needs. Phone service could be utilized with this technology as well. Private companies will divest their internet and phone service holdings while converting to provide repair/maintenance services. Software services similar to Zoom and Skype but with a more 3D/HD feel will provide a personal experience for people to communicate face-to-face over long distances and for groups to gather. A portion of folks will eventually enhance their capability for telepathy, negating the need for technology.
Communities:
Like-minded folks will find each other and form communities or villages. There will most likely be an industry that contributes to the community purpose and provide a product to sell/barter with other communities across the globe. Communal areas will hold healing centers, technology hubs, and event spaces. Animals will be cared for as companions, humane food production, and therapy. Education will be tailored to individual needs, desires, and aptitudes. Young and old alike will be valued. People will live longer more productive lives due to quality food, personal interaction, purpose, and healthful living. Children will be fewer but they will be wanted and cared for with community help.
Governments:
Governmental authority as we know it now, will change dramatically in the next few years. As we each develop our own inner authority, the collective need for central control will diminish. Boundaries of countries will shift and change according to those living there realizing their inner power and communal needs. Digital currencies and bartering will take the place of paper & coinage. Eventually, there will be no need for money as we now know it, but that will be several years from now. Communities will make their own rules along with mutually agreed upon international policies to guide interactions. Censorship will wane as our telepathic abilities grow. Nothing will be hidden as we enter higher states of consciousness.
Climate:
Contrary to recent media and uncensored scientific assertions, our planet will not accumulate excess heat nor will sea levels rise to dangerous levels. By all indications of a historical nature, taking into account a longer time-frame than recent climatologists use, we are in the beginning stages of a Grand Solar Minimum. During the transition to a colder planet, our local weather patterns will shift and change. This has happened several times in Earth\’s history. The Sahara was once green and lush. The Antarctic was once as temperate as Central South America. There were vineyards in Northern England. There was also a time when much of the Americas were under a sheet of ice. It\’s not known how severe or long-lasting this colder climate will last, but you can be sure that innovation to adapt will be at the forefront of people\’s minds for the coming years.
Spirituality:
As our consciousness evolves, the need for a centralized religion will wane. At the beginning of human spirituality, the gods of ancient times were our compass, and beseeching their favor in ways mundane and horrific was commonplace. We then centralized our worship along with our government through a monotheistic approach. Martin Luther ushered in a more personal god without the government involved, directly at least. We will now evolve leaving off an organizational structure and embracing a personal reflection of our inner spirituality. We may gather concepts from various teachings but at its core, we will recognize our own spiritual essence and connection to the Source of All, however, you choose to describe that being or state.
Conclusion:
These are but a few of the things I see for the coming decade. The transition period for some of this activity will be messy at first but as humans grow and evolve, we will welcome the changes. Much of what I have proposed is already happening on a smaller scale in many parts of the world. What will you contribute to the future you desire? The world is in your hands.
~ Follow Catherine\’s progress through life in Metaphysical Girl: How I Recovered my Mental Health. Available for Pre-Order Now! Publish Date- December 26th 2021 at Smashwords, Apple, Gardeners, Odilo, Kobo and Barnes & Noble