tomorrow
Are we able to see past ourselves to a future for which our work exists?
We live today because pioneers staked their claim upon the belief in a better future. They didn't have lives to be desired. The bones of those before us made the ground ready for our coming. A work began long ago sees results only in generations after.
We bandy a deceptive phrase: "Building a better tomorrow."
Clearly, the results of cancer research, educational reform, or systemic justice will not be tangibly seen tomorrow. Our patience is normally limited when we exert effort for a thing. This slogan encases a brilliant marketting vision about tomorrow.
Building does not carry such weight as it previously did. The work of construction is still toilsome and costly, but it is less so in our minds due to technology and the collective mindset it carries. Through this word, we recollect community and are given tools we will need to refine...
A as opposed to the or this is based on giving both the sayer and the hearer freedom to choose. A vision of tomorrow doesn't have to be fleshed out-the vision does. Also, a vision doesn't have to look like yours. It can appeal to the imagination of the hearer...
Better is not hard- this is not the deception, but merely a nuance. Better is 1% more than yesterday (or even 0.001% more). We can see better because it looks like today but... better- not worse is nearly a substitute. The only dilemma is velocity. If we want to get there fast, we need a better qualifier than better...
Tomorrow, is the powerful deception. We can all envision tomorrow. At the same time, we're still aware of the far-reaching implications of the real timeline.
Making our framework more narrow makes it possible for a paradigm shift without the painful realization that "this may not benefit me" (which requires an untrained altruistic mindset). Removed from this limiting belief, the work begins... and continues to the far-reaches of a vision's foresight.
What did you notice today? ///