We talk about the future as if it’s a distant, external place - something we can project ourselves into once we’ve built the right systems, or prepared for all possible scenarios. But too often, our imagination sits at the macro-level. And we forget the power of the micro. We'll talk about circular and post-growth economies, ethical tech, climate resilient cities. And while, it is important for us to dream up alternative models... we also must actively live into them. Futures work is full of contradictions. 🌎 We imagine post-capitalist futures while still measuring value by how much we produce, how efficient we are, how busy we stay. 🌳 We speak of ecological restoration while continuing to over-consume, waste, and hoard. 🫂 We talk about collective care while skipping meals, skipping rest, and modeling depletion. 👮🏼 We preach about abolitionist futures while attempting to cancel and shame each other into action. We are entangled in systems that none of us can opt out of completely. But we can still make choices and changes - as uncomfortable as they are - to practice the worlds we preach. Because how can we claim to build better futures if we are unwilling to live differently today? The macro is built from the micro. Every action, every habit, every relationship is part of the scaffolding for what comes next. If we do not know how to respond to or resource ourselves and our communities through the now, our plans for “someday” will collapse under the weight of unmet needs and unpracticed skills. The future isn’t out there waiting - it’s being rehearsed right here, right now.
In community work, I often see the same tension. We talk about “systems change” or “long-term impact” as if they’re waiting for us in some future state, once the funding is in place, once the structures are right, once the right partners come along. But the truth is, we’re already rehearsing those futures in the way we work today. Every partnership built (or not built), every choice about how we spend time, every habit of reflection or avoidance is laying the groundwork for what comes next. The macro is only ever an accumulation of the micro. And if our day-to-day practice isn’t aligned, the big visions will never hold. Your line ‘the future isn’t out there waiting, it’s being rehearsed right here, right now’ feels like a reminder we all need.
"Because how can we claim to build better futures if we are unwilling to live differently today?" Been sitting with this way too much lately. The future is all a direct continuation and consequence of the present, all of it so much more connected than we often want to think. We're building futures right now whether we notice it or not. We can either build those futures with intention or continue to stare wide eyed at "unexpected" outcomes.
Love this post. I’d like to add to your “🫂 We talk about collective care while skipping meals, skipping rest, and modeling depletion.” We also talk about collective care while practicing hyper-individualism and keeping those most vulnerable in our lives in the “too hard” basket, be they the elderly, the neurodivergent, the traumatised, the ill, the bipoc and the less privileged.
It absolutely is. I was walking down the street today thinking along these lines.. it’s eerie to look around and see “normal” while knowing all the ways things are far from normal. As the status quo shifts, we have such an opportunity to inform it, guide it, even to shape it. Love the framing of “practicing the worlds we preach!”
I needed to read this just now. I've been practicing focusing on what I can control or at least influence: that which is nearest to me in space, time, and metaphor. Thank you.
What is habitual becomes reality - and our current habits on a societal level are terrifying Sabrina Meherally
Sabrina Meherally This really resonates with me. I've been thinking a lot about how we "rehearse" the future in our daily actions. It's why I started building Havven – to create a space where the values we want to see in the future, like genuine connection and safety, are actually the foundation of how we operate *now*. It's a constant work in progress, but the idea of building something that doesn't force compromises on who we are feels so essential. https://bit.ly/4myI51f