MMXVII prognostication – SJBMCPRS Diagnoses

Disclaimer: The following post on the SJBMCPRS Report is not to be taken overly seriously, and is purposely expressive with an intent to imply the author’s perspective (which people are free to view if they choose to). However, the contents of this post will contain some real-world properties and questionable language, which along with the entirety of this post may be taken as offensive to people.

“The only way to predict the future is to have power to shape the future.” – Eric Hoffer

Alright; let’s get the easy stuff out of the way... Happy New Year (in 2017), best wishes to all ...blah, blah, blah. ...And in case some are looking at the title of this post and thinking “huh?”, MMXVII is 2017 in roman numeral.

Got that? Good, we can move on. To what in 2017, I don’t know for sure, because I am not a fortune-teller with a crystal ball striving to learn everything in advance so that I can win the national lottery, and place bets on which celebrity dies next. That said, it would be very useful to have that kind of ability to see into the future, so that I won’t be as shocked or taken by surprise when something in life occurs, plus I would be rich! Alas; like a rubber ducky in a bathtub on Mars suddenly transforming into a flying robot that takes the shape of the next United States of America elect (after Donald Trump’s years as President are over), ...me getting psychic powers and becoming rich isn’t going to happen. Shame really, because I really would like a new space hopper, and I think America at least will be more satisfied with a transforming rubber ducky as President compared to what they will get in 2017. But hey, at least there will be more anime in the form of Dragon Ball Super, the newly announced Yu-Gi-Oh series, and Star Wars episode eight (8) in cinemas, that has to count for something to some people, right?

So, there’s a chance that more of people’s favourite celebrities/famous people will be checking in to Death’s retirement home (or putting it simply, dying) in 2017, and there will be mourning. And yet as ‘tragic’ and ‘unfair’ people may say deaths are, it is an inevitable reality that comes for everyone when it’s time. Sure, someone passes, but that doesn’t mean life for every fan ends at that precise moment, because there is more to life than one (1) or a few significant people that starred in films, write music or did something admirable being no longer around. ...At least I hope the majority of people are wise enough to move on with their lives, and don’t become entirely obsessed over a loss of someone else. As devastating as my Mum’s and Dad’s deaths will be on me and the rest of my family when they pass on, I am wise enough to know it’s going to happen someday, and that I will adapt to not having the greatest people around, and be able to appreciate even the smallest of gems like during Boxing Day in 2016 where my Dad unwrapped a tin of garden peas and a HMV gift card, which as intended; was for fun, and brought joy to the whole family knowing that my Dad doesn’t like peas. So, while there are people mourning the recent loss of individuals like Carrie Fisher and Rick Parfitt (from the band Status Quo), it isn’t all doom and gloom as their achievements will continue to exist (and be exploited). In conclusion to this paragraph I state that as ‘bad’ as 2016 was for celebrity deaths, it is no different from previous years and future years to come, therefore we as people should accept that things happen, and people die.

But while it’s a guarantee that there will be people that die in 2017, and other happenstances like temperature changes are also going to happen; forecasting what else may or may not happen in 2017 is not as easy. Let’s focus on New Year’s resolutions since it is a good example of when one (1) might make assumptions or plans. A hypothetical resolution that one (1) person might make on New Year’s Eve (2016) is to get into better physical shape after having a week or so of celebrations during the holiday season. Its cliché yes, but not unrealistic, because it’s based on attributes that influence one’s processes to make that implied resolution. If for example I could comfortably wear my preferred shirt prior to Christmas, but then afterwards could no longer wear it as comfortably because I put on some pounds consuming Christmas holiday food, then I will mentally realise this as a fault of my own doing and resolve to correct the fault by losing some pounds (as in a unit to measure someone’s size, not as in the currency used in the United Kingdom). The purpose of fulfilling this resolution has more significance than just bragging rights, because mentally you overcome a boundary that inhibits you from something that you want; in the case of the example given above, losing enough pounds to once again wear the preferred shirt has a more profound beneficial effect then the alternative which would be to buy a new and bigger shirt.

Why is this the case? To put it simply it is because we ‘program’ our own brains to recognise particular things such as a preference to a particular shirt over a new shirt, or preferring salt and vinegar flavoured crisps than cheese and onion flavoured crisps. The brain houses neurons which are ‘calibrated’ through are actions and experiences to recognise signals that comply to unique patterns. For instance; a person with experience of eating Cadbury Heroes, and Mars Celebrations during Christmas Day will be able to tell which confectionery from the other through taste and memory because different sweets trigger different patterns, which is processed and stimulated in the brain. The effect of our actions and experiences create ‘memory’ within the neurons in the brain, and the more we associate with implied item, the more that particular pattern sticks. This is why someone can recall something they learned during school more so then something they might have only heard five (5) or so minutes ago, because a particular topic in school is more likely to be repeated like how to multiply numbers, and then used in tests, thus the unique pattern for said topic is ‘stored’ in the neurons, and the brain is capable of recognising the data it is receiving.

Neurology lesson aside; going back to the shirt example above, I am more likely to go to my preferred shirt and go through the effort to fit comfortably in the preferred shirt as implied by the hypothetical resolution, because my mind identifies the preferred shirt over an alternative through the unique and profound pattern of signals that are stored in the neurons in my brain. The same process is universal with any particular item, and works the same way for anyone’s brain. That said there is more to it than that, because achieving a goal or New Year’s resolution also produces a chemical called dopamine which is a natural and beneficial stimulant for the body. Fulfilling the implied hypothetical resolution regarding losing weight in order to fit comfortably in a preferred shirt produces dopamine which creates a ‘reward’ that is associated with feeling satisfied and motivated.

In truth, a New Year’s resolution is no different than any goal one (1) might make at any time. And since the title of this post uses the word ‘prognostication’ which is associated with words such as ‘predict’ and ‘think’ (according to thesaurus.com), it will come to no surprise that I have thought about what may occur in 2017 as well as what I would like to accomplice, based on experiences from 2016.

To state that 2016 hosted a number of ‘challenges’ for me to overcome and moments I would like to forget would be defining my interpretation of 2016 vaguely. Ultimately, I have weathered the storm, and have been able to express myself via posts made in 2016 about particular events such as the Comic-con in Bournemouth, the mental health awareness art exhibition, ...and the family holiday in Hastings on July to celebrate my Dad’s 60^th Birthday. Littered among these particular events are countless moments of self-rationalisation where I perceive happenstances and outcomes in different and mostly negative manners. The question: ‘what the blue and silver, five-legged, smothered in sellotape and kitchen roll paper H*** was I thinking?!’ popped into my mind during numerous situations, and in some circumstances, I’m still unable to answer myself.

To put in perspective; 2015 was monumental for my development, and 2016 was monstrously ambitious. 2017 already is intimidating with one (1) major challenge in the form of finding somewhere new to live, however when I consider what was done in 2016, I psychologically feel dwarfed by the immense uncertainty that also awaits me in 2017. You see its one (1) thing to be wary of a tremendous challenge looming ahead, it’s another thing entirely to mentally stare at the seemingly shapeless invisible path that I will be traversing across in the next 365 days with unyielding apprehension. I could tell myself that I am in a better place than where I was at the start of 2016 due to having excelled myself by making art pieces for the mental health awareness exhibition, and gaining more trust from my friends, but doing so would put me in a false sense of security, for these ‘foundations’ could very easily crumble and break apart due to something I constantly fear I will inevitably do. For all I know, 2016 could be in hindsight the very best year I had, whereas 2017 could be the year where everything turns to s*** infused with Flubber and hits the fan, and then shoots back and hits me!   

(Record abruptly stopping sound) The clock has just changed to ’00:00 01/01/2017’. Time for my first (1^st) objective of 2017: stop and listen in silence to Shangri-La (Piano Ballad Version) performed by Asami Imai.

(Six (6) minutes and five (5) seconds later) ....................curse people celebrating with fireworks! The disruption spoils the experience.

Being apprehensive isn’t anything new for me and admittedly as much as I dislike surprises (particularly the awful kind) and not knowing how happenstances are going to unfold, this has pretty much been the case every time a new year rolls in, and it won’t be any different this year in 2017. Whereas I know a couple of things, and have established certain aspects of my life from 2016 which will carry on into 2017, I try to keep things as simple and minimal as possible to alleviate the damage and fear of ruining everything, as well as giving myself enough space to breath when something unexpected develops. Even with that stated; I cannot deny that I would like certain things to happen, as well as attempt to achieve certain objectives. I could very much state what these ambitions are and how I would like to shape my future, however I am fully aware that saying ‘I want this’ to happen or ‘I want to do this’ won’t make it into a reality. It’s not like I have a genie in a lamp waiting to grant me three (3) wishes, or a monkey’s paw to do the same thing. As the quotation from Eric Hoffer (at the top of this post) implies, one (1) must have the ability to make his or her own future. While I will try to mould 2017 in a manner that I would find preferable, establishing one’s (1) own future isn’t as easy as forming a cup out of moulding clay.

But then that’s half the fun, right? Making it up along the way, or something along the lines of what some people might say. I like a lot of people will be traversing upon the yet unfathomable road of 2017 with uncertainty, and while there are people who will march into each day with a smile and seemingly infinite optimism, I cannot afford to be naïve, and to have zero (0) regard for consequences. For now, it is simply too soon to make assumptions (other than the negative assumptions), but perhaps if I can maintain the current flow of how everything in my life is throughout January (2017); I might have a clearer picture of what else awaits me. ...Or I could still be facing an enormous question mark (?) with no way of prophesying what is still to come. ...Or I could be antagonised over the littlest of things that shouldn’t make me mad at people, but does. ...Or I could inadvertently break my glasses and pay a metaphorically an arm and a leg for new glasses. ...Or I could find myself in a issue with family where I will have to provide emergency funds that I will not get back. ...Or I could be standing at one (1) end of a burnt bridge having tarnished everything inadvertently through my own stupidity.  

A new year full of apprehension... Yay... (FYI this is meant to be a sarcastic remark).

Oh, what fun awaits in 2017; especially when it comes to Christmas Day and Boxing Day in 2017 where I can expect more weirdness that will make the loaf of bread I got for a present seem tame in comparison (seriously this did happen in 2016!). This is where I will conclude this post as I must stop before I go even madder and state even more ‘...Or I’ scenarios, or plan a delightfully evil retaliation in the form of a Toblerone that has been in a freezer for a week as a Boxing Day present! In the meantime, feel free to comment, or imply your own perceptions, and until next time, see ya!