Radical Imagination - Where does it start?

Let me confess something. I love driving. Maybe not in cities (please spare me the constant stop-and-go) but on a fall day on a winding country road with an old classic blasting from the radio, there’s magic. I find that few things beat being alone in the car on a drive like that

In one way that makes me feel like a hypocrite.

Here I am passionately pushing for a sustainable future and still, I find so much joy in the art of driving. The solitude, the freedom, the promises of new adventures that come with the ability to hit the open roads. Not that I will today, probably not tomorrow either, but if I wanted to, I could.

Confession number two: I’m not even driving electric — yet.

I’m careful with using the word yet because I know how fast and easily realities can change. I’ve always said that the day I get a car I want it to be electric, but that’s not today. The car I occasionally drive is not mine, but the Honda sedan my husband purchased years ago before our move to the West Coast. It’s been a true friend, a companion on our many adventures to national parks across multiple states. It’s moved us to California and back and now back and forth between New York City where we live, and our family in Western Massachusets just a couple of hours north.

I don’t drive often, but on the few occasions I do, I truly love it. So, again, does it make me a hypocrite? No, I think it makes me truly authentic and of my time, and - in fact - even more capable of unlocking the world of tomorrow.

Let me explain.

Love nurtures growth

For one, loving the world we’ve created so far does not put a dent in our tracks to create an even better world for tomorrow. On the contrary, our love for our creations tickles the imagination and search for even more.

I think the human mind is truly magical. Just look around yourself and you’ll find evidence of how daring, expansive thinking of the past has created the reality we take for granted now. It’s easy to think the world is only getting worse, but that’s not true. Modern inventions and technologies have brought us out of extreme poverty and drastically cut the number of child deaths — across the world. It’s also enabled a faster, smarter, and (yes) more sustainable way of life. (If you look at the exhaust cars spewed out just a few decades ago, you’ll understand how much this is true.)

But that doesn’t mean we stop here. Our search for even better, fairer, and healthier worlds must continue. And if we keep our hearts open and continue to explore with curiosity and trust, even better realities may unfold.

Solarpunk — growing a gorgeous new world in the cracks of the old one.

I recognize that my Self today finds much pleasure in a solo drive. But I also know that it’s a fleeting pleasure and on the random occasions I drive a bit more frequently, I soon get tired of the driving. Like with everything, novelty sparks joy, but slowly fades with repetition.

I also trust that as the world changes, I will find pleasure in different things. The world of tomorrow will provide so many treasures that I’m yet to experience and our mission now (since we know what activities are good for us and the planet) is to make sure these new normals come with promises of a healthy world.

I read a quote in my early twenties by Mary Oliver that changed my life forever, and it continues to fuel my thinking today:

“Keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable.”

We shouldn’t get stuck in the reality we can see with our eyes this very second. A new existence on Earth is taking form and we must patiently wait to reap the fruits of that labor. What we can do is practice the muscle that keeps asking for more. The part of ourselves which recognizes the things we love, and then says “But do I have to keep loving this moving forward?”

It’s OK to let go and move on. It’s normal to miss what we’ve had yet rejoice in the blessings before us now. We can get sentimental, I believe it’s an important human experience to revel in the past, as long as we let it fuel us, not deplete us.

We can love the world we’re leaving behind, no matter how messy, dirty, and unfair, while setting sail for something completely different. In other words, it’s OK to love and also move on.

Soon, I hope to be driving electric. I’m thrilled by how fast an EV reality unfolded once we decided to hit the gas, proof that we can unlock new truths and possibilities if we want to. However, what the future beyond that looks like is unclear, and I accept that it may entail a car-free life. If we changed not just how we get around, but why we get around and how often, maybe the need for individual cars will be eliminated.

Intriguing thought…

So I’m kind to myself. I love to drive because it’s an awesome thing humanity unlocked. It brings speed, freedom, and the promises of ever-unfolding realities — the very things our brains are wired to look for. But I push myself to think further, to accept that this is not the end of the story, nor should it be.

I continue to keep some room in my heart for the unimaginable. For who knows — maybe the next chapter is even better, and what I will love tomorrow is for our curiosity today to explore.

What are your thoughts? Please leave a comment!

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To wrap up:

• It’s OK to love driving and at the same time, long to experience a fossil-free world.
• It’s perfectly normal to be conflicted in loving the world as it is now and feel a desperate, almost urgent drive to create something new.
• We can grieve the things we must inevitably leave behind while simultaneously growing nurturing space for what we’re yet to create.
• Our hearts can take it, let them grow.

Did you like the Mary Oliver quote? My dear friend and a contributing writer to The Climate Optimist, Matthew Gutierrez, recently shared a beautiful collection of her quotes — check it out!

Climate Hope in Museum Form

A permanent exhibit at the Natural History Museum of Utah is designed to inspire optimism and action for a better future in the face of climate change.

“A Climate of Hope” — NHMU’s first new permanent exhibition in 12 years — is meant to be different from other such presentations focused on climate change, said exhibit developer Lisa Thompson.

“Typical museum exhibits about climate change were very data heavy, and they tended to be very gloomy … and they tended to often focus on faraway places,” Thompson said.

“And we know from the field of climate communication research that’s been growing … that those just aren’t very effective ways to help people learn about climate change or to help them know how they can be part of climate solutions.”

This is just what we need, thank you Utah!

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