Rob Hopkins says that we need to imagine a future so attractive, so delicious and desirable that we yearn for it more than other things. The longing created by that “memory of the future” should be like the flavour of the cake my mum made when I was a child, or the smell of sunrise at my grandfather’s house. More than desire it, Rob says we should seek to connect with that future as a visceral –and, of course, collective– sensation.
In his podcast (link at the end of this page), Rob invites all his interviewees to follow this dynamic to experience the yearned for future with all our senses. The dynamic we propose here is unashamedly copied from his brilliant podcast.
Tell the story below to the people you are creating your collective piece for the Ecosystem of Hope. Be theatrical and emotive as you tell it:
Today is a historic day! We are going to travel in time for the first time in ______ (insert name of your locality). We are going to 2030.
Close your eyes and listen closely.
[You can insert the sounds you imagine a time travel machine might make]
Please put on your seat belts.
Quantum physics tells us that many parallel realities can exist at any one time. Today we are not travelling to the future that CURRENTLY seems most likely, but to another one which is much much more desirable. But it is NOT a utopia. It is a future that we have arrived at after the 5 most transformative years in human history.
Consumption and fossil fuel extraction have declined enormously. The owners of those industries no longer control our governments.
Global biodiversity is recovering.
Emissions are no longer rising, many western countries have reduced them considerably.
We have arrived in that 2030.
Please remove your seat belts and go out for a walk. You are each in a place that you know well. Close to your home or to your work. Take a stroll along the streets. Pay attention to every detail. What has changed?
What can you hear?
What can you smell?
What can you see?
What does the future taste of?
What are you feeling?
Take 2 – 3 minutes to explore that unexpected future. Sometimes it is hard to conquer the apocalyptic visions that we usually imagine when we think of the future. Give yourselves time. Try the exercise several times.
Then you can try different ways to bring together the visions of the people in your group:
- Ask each person to write down some words to describe what they experienced, for example, 1 word for each of our 5 senses
- You can also put up a black (or white) board and ask people to step forward and add words or phrases describing their experience
All this can contribute to a shared vision of this close and reachable future.
Now you can make a joint image in fabric and stitches to share the vision with other collectives around the world.
If you are working with a group whose membership varies a lot, you can also chose to create smaller individual pieces which can be joined up like patchwork by a facilitator to meet the size requirements.
Other inspiring things:
We strongly recommend listening to at least one episode of Rob’s podcast before organising a session with this dynamic: you will be inspired. And afterwards you can carry on and listen to all 100 episodes!
Rob Hopkin’s podcast: From What If To What Next
We have more inspiring links and readings for you in Things to read and listen to around your stitches.