A cartoon
A thought
Recently we have watched Collapse, Invasion and Silo - all TV series that slide towards a depressing view of the future - each have gems of the human spirit rising up against the dark, but overall, they have me thinking - why is it so easy to imagine everything going to shit? Where are the shows that imagine the better world we could be building? Do you know of any? I’d love to hear about them. Star Trek is one of the few utopian visions I can think of.
Imagining something better takes courage. Our cynical selves recoil, calling it naivete. Let’s call it brave instead and do it with all our hearts! If anything was possible, what would you imagine?
It is powerful:
“I believe that we are in an imagination battle, and almost everything about how we orient toward our bodies is shaped by fearful imaginations. Imaginations that fear Blackness, brownness, fatness, queerness, disability, difference. Our radical imagination is a tool for decolonization, for reclaiming our right to shape our lived reality.”
Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good
I would paraphrase and add, “almost everything about how we orient toward each other is shaped by fearful imaginations.” Let’s exercise our radical imagination instead.
Glimmers and sparks*
My glimmers for today are:
Watching Cunningham’s Skinks slithering in and out from under the house.
I met a red-bellied black snake moseying around the shed. After the shock I always get, I pause to feel alive and admire their glossy, bold beauty. For those of you not in Australia, it is a mid-sized snake with a bright red belly and glossy black back.
Having 71 people subscribe to see L’il Bean - thank you for the generous welcome reception to the world you have given us. I am loving meeting and catching up with new and old friends in the comments.
Li’l bean is your reminder to pause and ask: What are your glimmers for today?
From your friend and your small, steadfast companion,
*Drawing Li’l Bean helped me navigate out of a period of depression in 2023. A good friend 13, 595km away, helped, too, through a ritual of swapping daily glimmers via text.
A glimmer is a tiny spark of hope, enthusiasm or joy that lifts your heart. By helping me find three glimmers each day, she gently helped me see the joy and beauty already around me.
I’d like to share this practice with you and invite you to reflect on your glimmers for the day when you read this. Think of Li’l Bean as a reminder to notice the glimmers and sparks in your life. We’d love it if you would like to share your glimmers in the comments.
I think you'd love this post! https://substack.com/inbox/post/143464529
And yes! There's a lot of 'we should stop doing this or we're going to die' type talk while we should be talking about plants and car free city centres and tight communities that look after each other. What would that look like?