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Just like Martin Luther King Jr, John Lennon had a dream – they both imagined a world they would like to live in, aligned with their values and vision for their future and the future of their children.
What if we could imagine a better world for all, and help create it?
We can! And I have to tell you it looks and feels and smells wonderful.
And how do I know? Because I’ve been to the future and we’ve won!

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Last week I went to a workshop facilitated by Rob Hopkins where we traveled into the future. It was the debut of his tour around Portugal promoting the release of the Portuguese edition of What if, a book where he discusses the power of imagination and how it takes the courage to have “ridiculous” thoughts, because it’s not going to keep being demure that is going to make Human Beings take the leap needed to tackle climate change and it’s many facets.
Having read a lot of sci-fi and fantasy books and watched a lof of movies and TV series, trust me that imagining “ridiculous” things is easy, and still I learned a lot over the course of that workshop, especially how to release the constrictions of what we perceive as possible, to think up the impossible.

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Every time we’re brainstorming something, especially in team settings, there’s always someone saying that an idea is impossible to accomplish.
Even our own dreams and aspirations are often trumped by limiting beliefs that are/were either insidiously imposed upon us by others (family, community, society) or sprouted out of our own ego to keep us “safe”.
THE TIME IS NOW
The only thing is this is not a “safe” time, much less a time to play it “safe”. This is one of those pivotal moments where history is being recorded, every little action counts towards tipping the scale, and there’s much to be lost if we avoid rocking the boat to wake up the helm’s people and the captains.

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This becomes even more important in face of upcoming world changing decisions in the hands of millions of people that cannot see the good things around them, let alone imagine a better world, not only due to a fear narrative they have been fed for years, but also because so much of them are in survival mode due to natural catastrophes – and it is very, very hard to imagine while trying to keep alive and provide for the basic necessities for yourself and those in your charge.

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RISE TO THE OCCASION
The question is, people that are looking to continue the destruction of the ecosystems, democracy and society in general have come together to imagine the future and created the framework in which to achieve it, so we truly need to rise to the occasion and show everyone that cooperation, collaboration, sharing and integrating is the way to go.
And that takes me back to Rob Hopkins and the movement he started nearly 20 years ago: the Transition Movement.
The Transition Movement was imagined and co-created by people that imagined a better future for all, and started to make it happen: stronger community bonds, local food resilience, neighborhood renewable energy production, circular fair trade local non-pollutant economy, and many other good things that help us be truly safe, because what strengthens our community strengthens us all individually too.

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IMAGINE
“Oh, but only creative people like artists are imaginative! I’m rational/objective/etc… , so I can’t do that.”
That, my friend, is B.S.!
When you were a child, did you not play make believe, or have an imaginary friend, or make up stories, or build stuff without looking at instructions, or elaborate on the truth to make yourself sound better, stronger, faster, smarter?
And do you not do one or more of the above once in a while, even if the setting is different?
I’m not asking you to write an eloquent speech or compose a moving song to be remembered more than half a century from now like Lennon and King did. I’m only asking you to imagine a future where Human Beings make Humanity a meaningful word again, one that expresses community, sharing and caring like it is supposed to be, where people respect each other and what you do is aligned with what you believe, say and uphold.

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One of the exercises Rob Hopkins did during the workshop was the “What If?” one, where two people bounce ideas off each other in 3 rounds: first one, you say “No Because”, disagreeing and explaining/making up a reason why not; second one, you say ”Yes But”, agreeing in a completely and absolutely unenthusiastic way; third round, you say “Yes And”, being totally onboard with the proposal and building upon it.
As expected, the 3rd round was amazing and the energy, enthusiasm and sound were so much different!!!
As humans, we have a need to create community, to have a family (blood related or not), to fit in somewhere. All we need is to realize we are part of a greater community, that we are part of the crew of a spaceship that revolves around a Sun that runs around in a galaxy that is part of a big Universe, and what we do in our backyard affects all of that.
DREAM BIG
What if we can achieve all our dreams in a Win-Win scenario for all in our Spaceship Earth?
What if we can change things to make our fair planet a safer place for everyone now and in the future?
What if we can create interpersonal, local, national and global relationships based on mutual respect and acceptance of differences?
What if we can build peace in one house, community, county, state, country, continent, world at a time, until we all co-exist harmoniously?
What if we can break the self-destructive patterns of allowing power-hungry individuals to rule over us – as long as we feel “safe”, and even more so when we don’t -, and vote in people that demonstrate their humanity and respect for others through their actions?
What if we learn from the past, objectively looking at our present, and manage to co-create a better future for us all?
What if all this is possible and accomplishable when we use our personal and collective imagination for good?

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TIME TRAVEL
There are many ways to improve your imagination if you have “writer’s block” while trying to imagine a different future. I advise you to use a mix of Rob Hopkins’ exercises to achieve that:
Close your eyes and imagine you’re stepping into a time portal. As you walk over the threshold, you find yourself in the best version of 2030 that could be, where Humanity did everything they could in the best way possible to change things and deal with the ecological and climate crisis in 2024.
What do you see? Describe out loud what you feel in your skin, what your feelings are. What is going on around you? What perspective do you have? Can you hear anything? If so, what? And can you smell anything? If so, can you name each smell? Describe it all aloud, as if you’re reporting into the past to share your experience with everyone else back there. Be as detailed as you can.
MAKE IT SO
What if it is so, and 2030 is going to be exactly like that?
What if, by changing the things you can control, you’re helping that future come to fruition?
What are the steps you need to take to make that change happen in yourself, your family, your community, your country, our world? Make the objectives as big as you possibly can, and divide the way there progressively into manageable steps.
To build a pyramid, you start by imagining it, drawing it, outlining it and then building it block by block. Your future is the same, and every action you take is a block, bigger or smaller, still a step onward.

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And I can tell you this works. How?
Because I’ve been to the future, and we’ve won!