Provocation

Apocalyptic narratives abound as we find it easy to imagine that we're all doomed! The planet's dying, society's collapsing, and the best we can do is hunker down and hope for the best. Think of it like Mad Max meets The Hunger Games with a dash of Orwellian hot sauce, minus the cool costumes.

On the flip side, we have the techno-optimists who believe that technology will save us. We'll transcend our biological limitations and the laws of thermodynamics and all live in perfect harmony as happy consumers, owning nothing, renting everything, all with the help of our AGI overlords, and we'll never have to worry about anything ever again. Picture Star Trek meets The Matrix with a sly side of Silicon Valley hubris.

And there are many complex and nuanced stories in between. But the dominant narratives of our time tend to fall into these two camps, leaving us feeling powerless and disconnected from ourselves, each other and the world we're living in.

If you'd like to learn more about this, check out:

• The book Another World is Possible or the paper The Imaginary Crisis (and how we might quicken social and public imagination) by Geoff Mulgan.
• The paper Rainbow Mirrors: Technology and Our Collective Moral Imagination by Alja Isakovic and Mathew Mytka.

Thrutopia isn't about perfect solutions or total collapse. It's about:

• Embracing the messiness of life and learning to navigate it with grace and courage.
• Working together to craft a world that's beautiful, just, and regenerative for all beings.
• Living into the unknown and letting go of the need for certainty and control, and stepping into the mystery of what's possible.

If you want to learn more about Thrutopia, here are a few starting points:

• The orginal article from Rupert Read who coined the term Thrutopia.
• The work of Manda Scott.

The Three Horizons Framework is a way of understanding the past, present, and future as interconnected and interdependent. It helps us see where we've come from, where we are, and where we're going.

Each horizon represents a different way of thinking, doing, and being in the world. By mapping and playing between these horizons, we can see how they interact and influence each other, and how we can craft the future we want to born.

Learn more about the Three Horizons framework.

These systems are entrenched, resisting change while accelerating planetary degradation. The existing power structures are invested in maintaining the status quo and reinforcing the narrative that there is no alternative to the current way of doing things and being in the world.

• How might we navigate the decline of H1 without getting stuck in the despair of dystopian narratives?
• How might we compost the old systems into resources for the future?
• How might we create spaces for new ways of being to emerge?

Identify the dysfunctions of H1 and create the conditions for individuals and communities, online and in-place to:

• Articulate their discontent, grief, and fears about these systems and imagine and experiment with alternatives to the dominant systems.
• Build relationships and networks that support their efforts so they can see themselves as agents of change, capable of transforming their lives and local communities.
• Process the trauma dominant systems have caused and are causing, and find ways to heal and regenerate themselves, their communities and local ecologies.
• Define metrics using toolkits like Cornerstone Indicators helping them contribute to the outcomes that matter to them.
• Create visions of the future of their communities that are grounded in the values and needs of the people who live there and the ecologies they are part of.

Many H2 innovations, movements and initiatives remain fragmented, are easily co-opted by H1 institutions attempting to maintain the current patterns and structures of power, or just lack the coherence to scale.

• How might we support the emergence of H2 initiatives that are regenerative, just, and resilient?
• How might we build networks that can scale successful solutions?
• How might we learn from the failures and successes of existing efforts?
• How might we foster the emergence of new ways of being and doing that are grounded in the adjacent possible?

Acts as a bridge-builder in H2, fostering the conditions for:

• Futurecrafting Circles to share knowledge, resources, and support, and prototype of regenerative solutions.
• Codesigning ethical socio-technical systems that support the emergence and reflect the needs and values of the communities these systems serve.
• Creating digital and physical spaces for reflection, learning, and sensemaking to help individuals and communities navigate the complexity of the adjacent possible.

H3 cannot emerge without a deliberate effort to imagine and build it in the present together. One circle, action, relationship and story at a time.

• How might we cultivate moral imagination and systemic action to bring H3 into being?
• How might we hold H3 as a North Star, nurturing the seeds of this horizon through grounded, place-based action?
• How might we make H3 feel tangible and actionable in the present?
• How might we create rituals and practices that help us embody the values and principles of H3 in the enternal now?

This is a the playful space of possibility. The world to manifest and collectively craft into being. In this space Collective Futurecrafting helps to:

• Cultivate moral imagination, active hope, and memories of the future so that individuals and communities can see themselves as part of the story of H3.
• Encourage individuals and communities to hold H3 as a North Star, nurturing the seeds of this horizon through grounded, place-based collective action.
• Use somatic storytelling and collaborative storycrafting practices to help people embody the future and make H3 feel tangible and actionable in the present.