The Future Is Only as Imaginative as You Allow It to Be
INSPIRATION FOR DREAMING BIG
The future is never set in stone. It’s always fleeting, always teasing, always moving with the unseen currents of our mind.
Do we make our realities or do we fall into them? Is the future built on faith or completely in the hands of the maker?
Or is it, perhaps, a little bit of both?
These bigger philosophical questions continue to accompany us to this day but the one thing we know for certain is that the future is uncertain. It’s not here yet, and therefore, it can always change.
What’s more, the future holds events we haven’t yet experienced. Realities beyond what our current eye can see. With a quick look at history, we can be sure these events will be wildly different from anything we’re used to today.
How we live our lives, how we interact, how we seek entertainment, conveniences, transportation, meaning — it’ll all be different. It will be part of the world we get used to then.
But here’s the beauty of the future: we get to decide right now what kind of future we want to pull closer. Because, as has always been true — we build our tomorrow today.
Let’s get intentional with that
I wanted to wrap up this year by inviting us all to tap a little deeper. Although the holidays are a time for a lot of activity and chaos, it’s also a time for slowing down, reflecting on the year that’s been, for rest and reset.
So as you set your intentions for 2024, I ask of you to go a little deeper. Ask yourself, not just what kind of life you want for the year to come, but what kind of world you want as our future unfolds.
Do you dare to believe in a future that isn’t just different, but better? And as you hold that vision/feeling/belief in your heart, can you spark the desire to show up in your unique ways today to help pull that future closer?
We create our tomorrow today.
And the future is only as imaginable as you allow it to be.
So when you dream, dare to dream wildly. Dare to dream big.
And on that note…
Did you know that creative minds experience higher levels of climate optimism?
As hopelessness grows in the face of a widespread understanding of the climate crisis, the need for optimism is ever more important. I’ve always believed this, but now the numbers are coming in to support the case.
In a recent global research study led by BEworks, 2290 respondents from various countries showed different levels of climate hope, depending on country and background. But the most important finding was that creativity plays an important role.
The results showed creativity to be critical. Those who were more creative were significantly more optimistic generally and more optimistic about our capacity to solve the climate crisis specifically. A creative mindset was also associated with higher motivation to address the climate crisis, higher confidence they could contribute to climate initiatives, and greater effort put into being sustainable.
Further, more creative individuals were higher in a range of dispositions important to creating solutions—future-oriented thinking, open-mindedness, perseverance, and opportunity spotting. Together, these results strongly suggest that a creative mindset is key to taking on the climate challenge.
On that note, let’s bring in the (creative) optimism…
I recently had the honor of partaking in the Entertainment & Culture Pavilion at COP28 by contributing to this article on Entertainment + Culture Driving Climate Action with Green & Beyond Mag.
They asked me how I think culture and entertainment can be powerful tools to engage readers in climate issues and inspire action, and here was my response:
I was also asked: “What role do you think art and design play in climate optimism?” during my recent trip to Budapest, and I must admit the answers that came to me as I tapped deeper were fascinating!
Because without art and imagination, what do we have? Also, what better place to activate a futuristic journey than in our lived environments and homes?
The sooner we recognize that our opportunity to spark a better, smarter, and more sustainable world lies everywhere we look, we get to tap into our unique potential and bring forth that activation from within. We all have a role to play in this historic shift, so reflect a littler deeper and make sure to find yours!
Read about my lecture at the MOME Design & Art University in Budapest in ELLE Decor. (It’s in Hungarian, so you might have to translate…)
What role do art and design play?
I’m sure the answers we find to this question as we start go deeper are many, and I would love to here your thoughts in the comments below, but here are fours ways I find art and design to play a vital role in our ability to not just envision, but realize a sustainable and regenerative world.
☀️ It helps us expand and go deeper.
It's easy to always look for the next answers, the next "thing" we can do to get this right. However, our biggest challenge in the climate crisis is that we must find the courage to choose change, and in that, reimagine everything.
How do we look for answers to questions we don't even know how to ask yet? Allowing our minds to wander and to invite for that small but oh-so-enticing thought of "what if...", is what's essential right now, and art helps us go to those places.
☀️ It helps us envision new realities.
As a follow-up to the previous point, art — may it be a painting, music, or the written word — can help us see worlds we haven't yet created. It can help us envision something better and create an image worth fighting for. That is where climate optimism is first sparked -- a vision worth believing in.
☀️ Design can create a lived environment that nurtures curiosity and inspiration.
Where do our thoughts originate from? Most times, they come to us in moments of joy, peace, curiosity, and a search for inspiration. Designing a home environment, office place, or even public spaces that enhance both mental and physical health, while making space for more reflective and explorative thinking, can spark the conversations needed to create the world we want to see ourselves in next.
Design, therefore, has a vital role to play in setting the stage for big and innovative thinking to root.
☀️ Lastly, it's at the design phase a new way of [creating, transporting, living, growing, fill in the blank] takes place.
For a car to be fully circular, for example, it starts at the design phase where you envision — and create — every single part of the car in a way that it can be dissembled and upcycled after its lifetime.
In other words, recyclability and circularity will always start at the design phase!
What are your thoughts on art, creativity, and design in the climate work? Please leave a comment below!
Some Other Updates
Altought I wasn’t physically at COP28, I managed to find a way to participate from far away! On Thursday December 7th I took the train down from NYC to DC to host a live COP28 Climate Hub Broadcast with We Don’t Have Time and American University. It was a fascinating day with inspiring guests across sectors and topics.
We covered things like Climate Activism, A Career in Climate?, Media - Fighting or Fueling the Climate Crisis?, A Just Energy Transition, COP28 - View from the Ambassadors, and much more.
Click here for a replay on the full broadcast (it starts about 15 minutes in). Below I’m sharing a short clip from my own session on climate optimism.
Mass Energize — An Event for Community Organizing in Boston
I’m thrilled to announce that I’ll be the keynote speaker at a conference with Mass Energize in Boston this spring. The conference is for community organizers, municipal sustainability officers, community climate leaders, climate funders, university students and faculty in climate and sustainability departments, and anyone working to educate and motivate others to take climate action and reduce GHG emissions in their communities.
Close to Boston and interested in attending? Claim your spot here!
“Anyone can be a community climate leader. If you don’t see yourself as a leader, this conference will help show you how to become one!”
Recent Podcast Interviews
Book Marketing Mentors: My Journey As An Author & Building A Mission with Susan Friedmann
Conspiracy of Goodness: Shifting The Climate Change Narrative — Fearful, or Full of Possibility?
Before I leave you, I need to share one more thing that I came across on Threads this morning: