Some thoughts...
So, how has your 2020 been? 🙄😷🤪🙃🤨😝
Every end of December, I reflect upon the year that has just passed and the year to come. Last year was no exception. 2020 lay ahead. 2-0-2-0. Nice round numbers, saying that something big, something adventurous is about to happen. I went to a paper store to pick my 2020 planner, which is a bit of a ritual. The colour of the front cover needs to symbolise my feelings about these next 12 months. And so I looked through the selection. Yellow, red, blue, and green. Lovely bright colours, but not quite right. Then I saw a silver cover…and next to it: GOLD. Yes! Here it was! I had to have the one with the gold-cover, of course. It was magic. It was powerful. Yep, 2020 was to be the ‘Golden Year’ no doubt.
January came and went, February next. I launched a new website, revived my blog, and got in touch with a great editor. Things were looking pretty darn good. Well, at least until March came along. Wham! Bang! Slam! You all know what happened next. Lockdown. Travel Restrictions. Physical Distancing. On-Line meetings etc. etc. etc. The year of walking-through-days-made-of-quicksand had arrived.
Oh my. What a strange year. What a strange, strange year it indeed has been.
I have just picked my weekly planner for 2021. I didn’t go to the paper store but ordered it online (very 2020-ish). And the colour that spoke to me this time is one I hardly ever use: Light Pink. The same colour you see on the flowers of the Japanese Cherry tree, the Sakura. Somewhere I read that the Sakura long has symbolised the ‘newborn’ as well as the ‘fragile' and 'continuous nature of all things’, which fits rather perfectly with where we are at the moment, right? A new beginning, a ‘ground zero’ of some sort. Fragile like an open piece of land...which actually can be a strong position when you think of it. A place of opportunities, a point that can lead to many places.
Today, on the brink of 2021, I believe I have a somewhat more humble attitude than I had one year ago. I’m still full of hope and expectations; however, I think my approach to the coming year is more like the one of a pioneer than one holding a ‘gold planner’ in my hand. More “let’s see what happens” and less taking things for granted (not even knowing if going to the cinema or seeing a friend is an option), which can seem like hard work. But also I find that it can be quite liberating. There is an opportunity to do things differently, to create ‘new normals’ and not just return to what was. I guess you could say that now is a ‘New Year’ more than it has ever been.
I genuinely hope that your 2020 wasn’t all that terrible, and above all, I wish that 2021 will be much more like you truly want it to be. Also, I want to thank you for stopping by my website! It sure is a great joy for me to share inspirations from all over the world with you! And I am very much looking forward to continuing doing so in 2021. (Please feel free to join my email list, just follow this link.)
Okay, let's get to it. A new year is coming, so why not take a look at the future?
Here’s to you, a Handful of History - 5 creative things on (future) history I thought were worth sharing. Enjoy!
“You don’t predict the future; you imagine the future”, says the sci-fi writer Charlie Jane Anders. Lately, she has pictured the future as a green city with vertical farms and partially grown structures rather than built (you can actually eat the walls). Walkways instead of streets, since nobody gets around by car anymore. A city that lives and breathes. “People talk about the future as though it’s either going to be a technological wonderland or some kind of apocalyptic poop barbecue”, Anders says. The truth is, however, that it’s not going to be either of those things. It’s going to be both. It’s going to be everything. The one thing we do know is that the future is going to be incredibly weird, Anders points out, much weirder than we could possibly dream of. But we can try. And the first step to finding your way forward is to let your imagination run free...How does your future city look like?
How to be a Good Ancestor. This article presents the idea that the time we live in right here-and-now is a “hingey” time. Hingey meaning that this moment in human beings' history is the most influential period of time ever. “Perhaps the events that occur in our century could shape the fate of our species over the next thousands if not millions of years”, it suggests. If this is true, then we ought to think very carefully about our next steps, right? In the TED-talk ‘How to be a Good Ancestor’, the philosopher Roman Krznaric hands out some ideas. In Japan, he tells us, a ‘Future Design’ movement exists: A group of residents who meet to draw up and discuss plans for the towns and cities where they live. Half the group are told they are residents from the present day. The other half are given ceremonial robes to wear and told to imagine themselves as residents from 2060. It turns out the residents from 2060 systematically advocate far more transformative city plans, from healthcare investments to climate action. So how would the world look like 100s of years from now if ‘Future Design’-groups were organised worldwide!?
‘Repetition’. And speaking of the future - take a look at this meditative video artwork (6 minutes) inspired by the infinite. Best when viewed at full screen (and the sound turned on).
Everyday Adventures. Buy a toy from your childhood on eBay. Have a forbidden conversation. Lookup a tourist guide to your own city - and do the three obvious things you’ve never done. Eat in a restaurant alone and without a phone. Going on an everyday adventure doesn’t need to be expensive - the School Of Life offers a suggestion box that helps you spark your imagination and who knows, perhaps 2021 will be slightly more exciting (in a good way…) than the years you’ve left behind. (Also, check out ‘100 questions to spark meaningful conversations’.)
How Did I Get Here? Yesterday I accidentally listened to a radio program about the song 'Once In A Lifetime' by Talking Heads (released in 1981). Fans of the group share how the song has helped them in their lives - to make a change or simply to accept who they are. It’s quite moving. Also, the Beninese singer, Angelique Kidjo, turns up. She recorded her own version of 'Once In A Lifetime' in 2018 (love it!). “And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack - And you may find yourself in another part of the world - And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile - And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife - And you may ask yourself, "Well... how did I get here?”
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FYI - ‘A Hand of History’ will be taking a short break. Next blog post is sent out 11 February 2021.
See you next time.
Majken xx
Bye, bye, 2020. ('Things I didn't expect to be so grateful for this year' by Simone Lia.)
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