If the future begins where the past ends, are we people perhaps the moment in between, in which that one choice falls that can last forever long? Long lasting in relation to others; long lasting in our connection to the earth and long lasting in connection to ourselves.
Education, healthcare, agriculture and food are domains that constantly demand renewal. Not in a month or a year or in 2032, but preferably yesterday. But if we remember today what the future asked from us yesterday, then now, today, is the time to do good!
Artists and designers often have an intuitive feeling for what the future wants to pass on to them. Usually they are not roped in by (economic) rules. They are nimble and open for whatever comes to them. Not seldom do they find the future in nature; natural resilience that makes it possible for every day to appear anew. Also complexity is often recognized in nature. Life has its own organic laws. Never cautious, but cyclical and in coherence.
We can draw inspiration for systemic change from them. It is not without purpose that the first thing the Earth Charter asks from us is to approach all life forms with respect and care. For they contain a living future that we can remember over and over again. A curriculum for humanity as a whole; the basis for holistic health care; an integral outlook on agriculture and food.
The commonplace summons us to be like artists, nimble and open, when we strive to reform abstract systems; to remember in the future what life can teach us. With ecological integrity towards the earth; social and economic justice towards others, and in peace with ourselves. This is multi-dimensional and simultaneous. Pedagogy and healing will become an art again; not tested out on yesterday, but over and over again, on the day that follows tomorrow. Why? For the joyous celebration of life itself. For the earth that, in her endless diversity and beauty, keeps us together. One Earth community, one common destiny.