This is so important. I often wonder about the imaginary "day after". What does that really mean? I can't articulate it myself. I can't even fully dream about it. Deconstruction serves its purpose, but if we don't know exactly what the aftermath looks like, we're setting ourselves up for cycles of pain. Thanks for this!
It is so so important! Even if your dreams about the future feel absurd, still have them. Still think about them. Because then you can see the pathways there and open up new means of resistance and hope!
As a child, I was constantly dreaming about a utopian civilization, then I got bitter in adulthood and just wanted to escape. Since the genocide, escape doesn't work anymore. My husband always says how he hates dunya and only wants Jannah inshallah. I am with that but I still want a better world, a better dunya. It feels further away than ever. Your essay reminded me about that utopian society I used to envision.
Even the prophets cried. They wept, were in anguish over the Dunya. Yet, they are reminded each time that Allah knows what we do not. There is such impossible beauty, cosmic glorious beauty in life, and we are called to remember it and be grateful for it. Even in our tragedy, to find gratitude. Imagine that future world, that Jannah in the Dunya. Is it possible? Ya Allah… we must remember that when Isa comes He will bring an era of peace. So while it will not be Jannah, it will be as close as we can get. Don’t lose hope habibti. As in all things, this era… it too shall pass. 🤍
I want to thank you for this challenge. Before reading this, I hadn't realised how much of my idea of "progress" was hating the people whose hate enabled the current state of the world. I often get angry and wonder where the world would be if there had been no hate, but I have barely given time to imagine a society built on love. Reading your work, I identified that in reality, so much of my own beliefs are based solely on destroying existing structures and not enough on building, not enough on sharing love with those who have been victimised alongside me, and more intensely than I have, truly, thank you. I would enjoy hearing your own experiences on leading with and manifesting love
p.s. I'm currently reading this in my cubicle and paused at several points to daydream, so I chuckled when I read your call to action. I will commit to sitting and physically writing down what my idea of this "New World" is
This is perhaps one of my favorite comments I've ever received, and it makes me feel so happy that I don't give up writing even when it feels like I am saying crazy stuff into a void of people who are also saying a lot of things.
I look forward to hearing what you imagine!!!
I will say, the biggest outcomes have been my family. Learning to speak with love, compassion, and hope - being accountable when I lose my temper, and learning that sometimes (most of the time) their questions are literally from a place of ignorance not hate, has TRANSFORMED not only our conversations, but where they are on the spectrum from where they were.
We are impossible miles from where we were when Michael Brown was murdered (May his memory forever be a blessing) to where we are today. And there are still some areas that require hard and diligent work, hard and diligent conversations, but when they ask questions I no longer get angry, instead I ask them to imagine X future with me about Y topic, and then we backtrack to the questions they asked. Often it becomes a real legitimate conversation and we stop having antagonism and anger. When we reach topics that feel like we can't pass them, I will just say that I love them, and that X thing is the future that I hope for, the future that I want, and if they want to ever talk to me about it, I will be happy to do that.
The biggest change is when I take accountability for my emotions. When they say something truly harmful in their ignorance and I react, I ALWAYS make sure to own that. (Partially because I can same some really crazy mean things in my anger), and it has helped them understand that love IS accountability, as much as it is hope.
This has been huge with my mom on the conversation of Palestine and the occupation, and with my dad on policing in America. Learning to take steps back from the precipice of anger, and show them what the reality of that world looks like, and the ways it blossoms out to touch them, not just the people we think it touches, brings that reality into focus for them. Shows them that future in a way that feels tangible, real, and most importantly, Godly.
You are most welcome! I have to admit that coming up with my idea of a new world has been a bit more difficult than I had imagined and I'm considering that a good thing. I'm actually forcing myself to say okay, what exactly would even things as small as my commute to and from work look like.
I feel like I also needed to read the parts in your comment relating to conversation because it's something I struggle with. I often find that people here in Nigeria are so committed to the status quo, mostly out of fear of prosecution, that they don't want to hear any criticism; despite the fact that they themselves will complain about said status quo. So I'm ashamed to admit I had never thought to consider asking something as simple as, for example "imagine a world where your streets no longer flood, wouldn't that be great" instead of saying screw governor or commissioner so and so.
I really do have to deal with my own reactions as well and understand that the path to enlightenment is different for everyone and is a path I myself will walk for eternity. I was and still am ignorant, so showing grace to people who are ignorant in ways different from me so so important. I appreciate the reminder
Yes! Work on it, because that is where inspiration lies. I love the idea that some parts are hard, because that is how you know where your blind spots lie. Think about the miraculous nature of the future for your homeland. What is it known for? How does it connect with the countries around it? What are the foods that become staples, are they coming back from near extinction or are they being cultivated in new ways? What is the demographic make up? What is the language? What is the community style? Is it communal living like homes, or communes, or small neighborhoods? Is it more isolated and spread out with shared land? What is the relationship between nature and technology? Is there a relationship between the two? What is religion? What does it look like in the peoples lives? "Imagine a world where your streets no longer flood,..." is a beautiful starting point.
But it is also recognizing that people may feel grief at this question. Let them. Remember that we have been divorced of our hope for so long, that to even be given a chance to imagine a future feels like a betrayal to the pain so many of our ancestors have lived through.
Meet their anguish and pain and heartbreak with soft compassion, hope, and love. Give space for grief, and then, lead with love. Remind them of the beauties of potential. How it can drive change, and how when we are children we are born with such wide eyes, we imagine worlds that seem impossible, and eventually we are told that they are impossible.
But what if we hadn't been? Dubai exists, inasmuch as planes do, inasmuch as solar, wind, and water power exists - things are only impossible if we forget that we are capable of great things.
This is so important. I often wonder about the imaginary "day after". What does that really mean? I can't articulate it myself. I can't even fully dream about it. Deconstruction serves its purpose, but if we don't know exactly what the aftermath looks like, we're setting ourselves up for cycles of pain. Thanks for this!
It is so so important! Even if your dreams about the future feel absurd, still have them. Still think about them. Because then you can see the pathways there and open up new means of resistance and hope!
As a child, I was constantly dreaming about a utopian civilization, then I got bitter in adulthood and just wanted to escape. Since the genocide, escape doesn't work anymore. My husband always says how he hates dunya and only wants Jannah inshallah. I am with that but I still want a better world, a better dunya. It feels further away than ever. Your essay reminded me about that utopian society I used to envision.
Even the prophets cried. They wept, were in anguish over the Dunya. Yet, they are reminded each time that Allah knows what we do not. There is such impossible beauty, cosmic glorious beauty in life, and we are called to remember it and be grateful for it. Even in our tragedy, to find gratitude. Imagine that future world, that Jannah in the Dunya. Is it possible? Ya Allah… we must remember that when Isa comes He will bring an era of peace. So while it will not be Jannah, it will be as close as we can get. Don’t lose hope habibti. As in all things, this era… it too shall pass. 🤍
I want to thank you for this challenge. Before reading this, I hadn't realised how much of my idea of "progress" was hating the people whose hate enabled the current state of the world. I often get angry and wonder where the world would be if there had been no hate, but I have barely given time to imagine a society built on love. Reading your work, I identified that in reality, so much of my own beliefs are based solely on destroying existing structures and not enough on building, not enough on sharing love with those who have been victimised alongside me, and more intensely than I have, truly, thank you. I would enjoy hearing your own experiences on leading with and manifesting love
p.s. I'm currently reading this in my cubicle and paused at several points to daydream, so I chuckled when I read your call to action. I will commit to sitting and physically writing down what my idea of this "New World" is
This is perhaps one of my favorite comments I've ever received, and it makes me feel so happy that I don't give up writing even when it feels like I am saying crazy stuff into a void of people who are also saying a lot of things.
I look forward to hearing what you imagine!!!
I will say, the biggest outcomes have been my family. Learning to speak with love, compassion, and hope - being accountable when I lose my temper, and learning that sometimes (most of the time) their questions are literally from a place of ignorance not hate, has TRANSFORMED not only our conversations, but where they are on the spectrum from where they were.
We are impossible miles from where we were when Michael Brown was murdered (May his memory forever be a blessing) to where we are today. And there are still some areas that require hard and diligent work, hard and diligent conversations, but when they ask questions I no longer get angry, instead I ask them to imagine X future with me about Y topic, and then we backtrack to the questions they asked. Often it becomes a real legitimate conversation and we stop having antagonism and anger. When we reach topics that feel like we can't pass them, I will just say that I love them, and that X thing is the future that I hope for, the future that I want, and if they want to ever talk to me about it, I will be happy to do that.
The biggest change is when I take accountability for my emotions. When they say something truly harmful in their ignorance and I react, I ALWAYS make sure to own that. (Partially because I can same some really crazy mean things in my anger), and it has helped them understand that love IS accountability, as much as it is hope.
This has been huge with my mom on the conversation of Palestine and the occupation, and with my dad on policing in America. Learning to take steps back from the precipice of anger, and show them what the reality of that world looks like, and the ways it blossoms out to touch them, not just the people we think it touches, brings that reality into focus for them. Shows them that future in a way that feels tangible, real, and most importantly, Godly.
You are most welcome! I have to admit that coming up with my idea of a new world has been a bit more difficult than I had imagined and I'm considering that a good thing. I'm actually forcing myself to say okay, what exactly would even things as small as my commute to and from work look like.
I feel like I also needed to read the parts in your comment relating to conversation because it's something I struggle with. I often find that people here in Nigeria are so committed to the status quo, mostly out of fear of prosecution, that they don't want to hear any criticism; despite the fact that they themselves will complain about said status quo. So I'm ashamed to admit I had never thought to consider asking something as simple as, for example "imagine a world where your streets no longer flood, wouldn't that be great" instead of saying screw governor or commissioner so and so.
I really do have to deal with my own reactions as well and understand that the path to enlightenment is different for everyone and is a path I myself will walk for eternity. I was and still am ignorant, so showing grace to people who are ignorant in ways different from me so so important. I appreciate the reminder
Yes! Work on it, because that is where inspiration lies. I love the idea that some parts are hard, because that is how you know where your blind spots lie. Think about the miraculous nature of the future for your homeland. What is it known for? How does it connect with the countries around it? What are the foods that become staples, are they coming back from near extinction or are they being cultivated in new ways? What is the demographic make up? What is the language? What is the community style? Is it communal living like homes, or communes, or small neighborhoods? Is it more isolated and spread out with shared land? What is the relationship between nature and technology? Is there a relationship between the two? What is religion? What does it look like in the peoples lives? "Imagine a world where your streets no longer flood,..." is a beautiful starting point.
But it is also recognizing that people may feel grief at this question. Let them. Remember that we have been divorced of our hope for so long, that to even be given a chance to imagine a future feels like a betrayal to the pain so many of our ancestors have lived through.
Meet their anguish and pain and heartbreak with soft compassion, hope, and love. Give space for grief, and then, lead with love. Remind them of the beauties of potential. How it can drive change, and how when we are children we are born with such wide eyes, we imagine worlds that seem impossible, and eventually we are told that they are impossible.
But what if we hadn't been? Dubai exists, inasmuch as planes do, inasmuch as solar, wind, and water power exists - things are only impossible if we forget that we are capable of great things.
You got this!!!!