I’ve been thinking about how to imagine a bright future where all beings thrive. It’s not always the first perspective I embrace right now, honestly. There so many narratives that contradict this. There’s the news, of course, which has never really thrived on focusing on creating optimism. It’s true that there are plenty of legitimate things to worry about and the future is and always has been uncertain. Uncertainty is scary, but it is a constant of the human experience.
There is an antidote to letting our minds be hijacked by imagining the worst-case scenarios. Ah, some good news! It starts with taking the time to imagine a better future with love at the center both individually and together. How do we move our social compass toward good if we don’t know where we’re going? We’ve been watching our future Sanctuary being built over these months and it’s coming closer to completion every week! This would not be possible without dedicated imagination. As we wrote thank you on the walls of old building and blessings on the beams for the new ones, I noticed how many blessings reached far beyond our lived futures. It started with imagination. See? You’re good at this!
Imagining a bright future might feel like swimming upstream sometimes, but I believe it begins with taking some dedicated time to daydream-to rest. Sometimes it’s easier to imagine with a partner, or a community of partners. Right now, I’m noticing times when I find myself thinking about things I don’t think I can do but would be great if I could. As a dedicated list maker, I now write these things down. Am I sure I can’t? What’s a first step? I’m always surprised by what comes to mind when I think about it in the context of love at the center. I invite you to lean into your own imaginations as we navigate these challenging times.
Many blessings,
Wendy
Wendy Karn is Orange Coast Unitarian Universalist Church's intern minister. She can be reached by email at wendy@ocuuc.org.