Possible Possibilities

It seems to me that if we are going to talk honestly about public policy and society, we need to address the question "What is possible?"

As we each stand in our present, we have a past that is comprised of memories: factual, real, morphing; impermanent.  We have a future that is not yet written.  Most importantly, we have the space from which we step forward.  It is a space from which each and every instant we step out bravely into the unknown.

When we consider what is possible to its fullest, we are engaging imagination.  We are engaging our learning (both formal and informal), our intuition, our resources, our community, our families.  When we consider what is possible and apply ourselves to embracing the infinite space where possibilities lie, we make our world a better place.

As I write this, I also recognize truths around our creating future.  Not every human being is living in a mental space where they can make rational choices or rationally see the future.  Not every desire is one that can be had.  There may not be an object, technology or invention that is a panacea.  Every step we take forward has impacts -- some can easily be imagined; some would defy even the most clairvoyant of us all to have predicted.

When we move into that dreamspace of possibilities, it only grows in its breadth and depth as we infuse our  imagination with reality.  Many who will read this will state, "It is better to temper reality with imagination than imagination with reality."  To them, I say this: When we look at how things work and how they don't work, we discover the wonderful serendipity of increasing knowledge.  If we refuse to look at both sides of the equation, we miss an opportunity to see half of the image.  We are degrading the quality of the picture.

It isn't about nay-saying; it's about saying.  It's about learning.  It's about looking at a picture holistically in order to create the opportunity for ideas to flow with nature; with what is.  For many years, I have pondered the difference and interdependence of the words "facts," "truth," and "reality." Facts are the objective observables. They are independent points of observation.  Truth is our objective assembly of these independent observables.  And, yes, it is absolutely the case that truth is at least in part subjective.  Reality is our subjective experience.  It is what gives us our platform from which we step out into our future.

It is our infinite imagination combined with our factual experience that allows us to imagine a future different than the present.  With imagination; with compassion, we may find a way to make the seemingly impossible possible.  We may build community that is as driven by dreamspace as we are reality. 

The possible possibilities of our lives that we move forward out of the past and into our collective future are infinite.  It doesn't matter if we are talking about energy, community, health...or any of the matters society may tackle.