Life's Dream

I want to have kids one day, the boy added, I just don’t know whether I would want them to experience the future of our world… I guess we can only wait and see…

They sat in the living room with a quiet funk playing in the background. The air swayed with the rhythms of music and out-breaths of alcoholic scent. It was the birthday of his flatmate and a friend, so the boy decided to take the evening as it comes and just enjoy the process. One should not work every day, all the time anyway…

*

Sipping their drinks, they discussed matters less and more urgent to the world as a whole and their respective little worlds specifically. I’ve not watched that one yet, one of the guests mentioned a documentary pointed out by the host, I heard it’s one to see though… Yes, yes, it is, the boy nodded, not an easy watch for sure… There is a second one, made last year that treats the subject more scientifically as well, he added, it definitely helps to address those, who need to see statistics and research-driven numbers. One of them burped. Someone started rolling a cigarette. A moment of silence filled with the heavy thoughts of the future their generation is to live through. Maybe we’ll manage, one boy shrugged his shoulders, after all, that’s what our species does best… Or, the more skeptical one raised his voice, or we’ll have a Bronze Age Collapse again! He chuckled expecting others to join. Surprised he looked around. What, he asked, you don’t know that it happened before…?! The whole civilization of humanity stopped in its progress, almost completely died, and had to start from scratch… Someone shook his head visibly disheartened. It’s nothing new, nothing new…

*

Feeling the cold, slightly metallic taste of the beer flowing down his throat, the boy pondered quietly. A new song started, and, with a little more upbeat rhythm, it filled the room with warmth. With the cigarette rolled, one of the boys approached the window and sat on the edge of the kitchen table. Crack. A spark lit his chin for a second. Crack. Another attempt followed. Success. The scent of burned tobacco, by some considered to be a horrible smell, lingered across the room. With the window opened halfway the wind’s howling between the buildings was hearable. The silence of their conversation gave space for this momentary recital. I will not have kids for sure, suddenly one of the couch-based guests said, hearing all this and seeing how Earth is being treated, I don’t think there is much point to bring someone else to this world, only for them to see the end of it… Wow, someone gasped, that’s fucking sad…

*

The smoke from the cigarette swirled and danced on the breeze, as the group gathered their thoughts in answer to such claim. I don’t think we know what’s going to happen though, one of them answered, the exponential growth in technology and our civilisation abilities is so rapid that there is no way of prophesying the next decade… I want to have kids one day, the boy added, I also don’t know whether I would want them to experience the future of our world… I guess we can only wait and see… The cigarette was extinguished and one of the beer cans landed in the recycling bag in the corner. A metallic clank shook the musical aroma. I like the idea of consideration and caring but not worrying about things we cannot impact, the boy stated calmly, after all, we all have our lives to live as well… His friend, the birthday boy looked at him and smiled, row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream, merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream… The boy thought of Ram Das’s documentary and pondered the meaning of it all once more. Maybe it is just that, he asked himself silently, maybe we are here to just experience, do our best, and enjoy the ride… The future isn’t here until it will be, he stated out loud, so there is no point worrying about it until it comes…

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Forest of Thoughts (wsalski.com)

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