Posts Tagged: Anab Jain

“IMAGINING DIFFERENT FUTURES”

On June 22, 2017 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

I have signed up to receive daily TED talks in my e mail in box.  My first one was a talk by Anab Jain, and was titled “Why We Need to Imagine Different Futures.”

I am not all that big on the future.  I’m still trying to decide if I like the present.  Don’t even get me started on the past!

However, I thought to myself, “Well, I’ve signed up for this, so I’d better listen to it.”  I’m glad that I did. (If you want to see and hear the entire TED talk, go to https://www.ted.com/talks/anab_jain_why_we_need_to_imagine_different_futures, accessed 06-20-2017.)

Jain gave a number of examples of her team’s research in various fields.  However, I was especially intrigued by some of her comments that are, I think, widely applicable.

For example, concerning climate change, she spoke of exploring different “possible futures.”  Such exploration tries to “. . . prepare for that future by developing tools and attitudes that can help us find hope—hope that can inspire action.”

. . .

“. . . [C]reating concrete experiences can bridge the disconnect between today and tomorrow.  By putting ourselves into different possible futures, by becoming open and willing to embrace the uncertainty and discomfort that such an act can bring, we have the opportunity to imagine new possibilities.  . . . We can move beyond hope into action.”

Christians should be among the forward-looking people in the world.  Instead, we are among the most backward-looking folks.  Years ago, I remember (!?!   See!  I’m looking back!) someone speaking of “. . . the seven last words of the church: “We’ve never done it that way before!”  Churches tend to forget the truth of a Will Rogers’ saying: “The good old days ain’t so good any more, and they probably never was.”

To imagine different futures doesn’t mean ignoring the past, nor does it mean that we don’t live in the present.  Rather, imagining different futures means “. . . developing tools and attitudes that can help us find hope—hope that can inspire action.”  It is only when we begin to develop tools, attitudes, and hope that our actions can really make a difference in the present and for the future.

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