The year 2000 is upon us -- we're in the last year of this millennium -- and with it a great deal of uncertainty. Like the last minute of the year. What will happen to computers upon transition? Will civilization crash? We're lying in our three-dimensional beds trying to come to terms with a four-dimensional universe. Check that. There could even be more than four. Some of us have the chills, others a fever, and for still others, just plain exhaustion. The nature of the universe is a lot to consider; we haven't done it before and it's time to slow down and sort out some things.

Those who are too busy to be in bed aren't immune to these new premonitions. But for them, these issues sort themselves out in the time during which they sleep. Consciously or unconsciously, though, the processing occurs. Some will accept this work, and other will not. A cocoon can act as a defense against ideas as well as a safe place to sort them out. Sleeping 12 hours a night during this period will be a normal response for some; others may need only six a night, while these ideas take shape, like seeds sprouting from hard ground.

From outside the three dimensions we're coming to see some of what's possible. Like speaking aloud a thought and finding that the 'Universe' gives us exactly what we've asked for. Whoa, just imagine! Powerful and rather frightening as well; it means we realize a new kind of responsibility we hadn't assumed before—which we simply believed wasn't possible!

Subjecting ourselves and our world to questions brings us to the limitations of human knowledge. Philosophers of the 20th century state that perceptions define reality, and everything else is just metaphysical observation (stuff which cannot be proven by science). From this edge (or centre of this circle, depending on point of view) where could we be heading? What, then, is reality? The Matrix captures our attention with this question. Neo shucks off the persona of Mr. Anderson to become something else; we watch, engrossed, as he strikes through the veil of illusion that is the matrix.

But what lies beyond? It is Zion in the film, but what is it in the movie that is our lives? Seeking stability amidst these fluid ideas, many people will want to embrace a form of tradition. Some look to the framework of the '50s America (e.g. engaging in simple leisure activities like going to the beach) and others turn toward the eastern cultures seeking inspiration on disciplined ways of living, such as waking and meditating in bed for half an hour before rising. Wherever we look, something has changed: we search now with awareness.

This difference in us make us see the costs of the choices we made in the early 90s. That is, choosing for career rather than raising our own kids; for divorce rather than union. Generation Y, the 'Dot.commers', have the gadgets and techie know-how to prove this assumption. Parents sponsored the kids with the latest technology, feeling guilty they weren't around. Information available throughout the Web has helped them become adults; they've skipped parts of childhood (for better and for worse). We see them as peers and colleagues rather than our own children. The Scandinavian attitude toward child rearing becomes a convention as studies show there are consequences for all concerned when one chooses child OR work.

Left to their own devices, or raised within a family, kids increasingly play computer games such as Doom and Final Fantasy where they create personas to struggle and grow in online realities. The line separating Virtual Reality (VR) and Real Life (RL) is thinner than gauze. These games provide them with rites of passage, next millennium style; they actually have an easier time growing accustomed to the 'neo-cocooning' ideas germinating within. Youth will often choose virtual worlds in which to 'process' this new awareness, while their parents slip between the romanticized Laura Ashley feather duvets and soft blankets to protect them from RL.

Past status symbols -- Gucci bags and Porsche cars for example -- become ridiculous. Imperfections are cool, because they mean the items are authentic. Going 'green' is the new norm every time we make a choice. Not only healthy for the planet but us as well. Bans on smoking in public places will now be the rule rather than the exception.

Such responsibilities are the new social standards. These transformations are occurring quickly and taking on reality with the speed of light (relativity). We cannot fall, or fail, though it feels like we may. The theme is simplicity. Like a kite flying in the wind. As the string holding it pays out, it flies with no support or structure. We feel that way now, but we are still tethered to the earth just like the kite. Outside of the veil, past the cocoon, there is life. Another kind. It is toward that we go. And as the kite is released, so are we.
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