Crossing the threshold into 2026
And all the futures that lay ahead
2026 has begun! And we now find ourselves a full week into a new year.
It’s a good time to remember that even calendar time is a social construct.
The Gregorian calendar we use today was issued in 1582 (not that long ago in human history), and became a unified international system thanks to the power and influence of the Catholic Church, and then imperial Europe.
With different choices, we’d be celebrating New Year’s in February, along with millions of people across Asia as the Lunar Calendar starts anew, or in March when the Northern Hemisphere experiences the Earth Springing back to life.
(Ethiopians still celebrate New Year’s in September!)
Birthdays are also naturally a kind of personal new year.
The point is, we could decide where we want to place and honour a threshold of new beginnings at any time.
Know where I’m going with this?
We could decide to change our trajectories at any point in time.
When the news came out about the US invading Venezuela, bombing its capital and kidnapping its President, my first thought was “…the year JUST started, and we’re already on this BS.” facepalm
Meanwhile, we could choose not to be at any given time.
We could:
Divest from oil and gas
Ban new oil and gas development
Invest in renewables even more
Transform our transportation system to support faster, low emissions mass transit
Establish an equitable international governance system
Restructure our economic to focus on meeting materials needs through just distribution of resources, rather than private profit
Pursue reconciliation in earnest
Give the Land Back
And so many other things we explore in The Climateverse.
We can decide to start anew any day.
We just have to choose to.
And I know what you’re probably thinking, “We?! Alicia, I have no power to stop all this oppression.”
And that’s true at the individual level, sure.
But you do have some power to change something, however small. Because how we do things at the small scale is how we do them at the large scale (thank you adrienne maree brown!)
And if we band our small acts together, collective power can change everything.
Luckily, we have a hopeful example to cling to: the inauguration of Zohran Mamdani as New York City Mayor.
Not only did he make a rousing speech at the ceremony on January 1st, committing to governing his city exactly as he campaigned: a democratic socialist devoted to the best interests of ALL New Yorkers.
He’s also gotten to work after a busy transition period where he immediately announced an all-star transition team, and appointed more than 400 policy and personnel advisors across almost 20 issue areas, from arts and culture to housing to transit and beyond.
And he only came to power through grassroots organizing, where ordinary people like you and me voted, volunteered, got involved because they knew they deserved better. (And the same people will hold him accountable, too).
This is a glimmer, a signal, of other possibilities.
The proof that a different way of being is in fact possible.
So whether you’re into resolutions or vision boards or bingo cards for your personal life, I wonder:
what new world(s) are you working toward making real with this new revolution around the sun?
This year, I look forward to committing to my art and creative expression, so expect to hear from me a lot more often, with invitations to play in new storyworlds and formats.
And yes, another digital simulation is in the works, though I’m still working out the core scenario proposal. (Reply or comment with your suggestions!)
Below you’ll find info for some fun January activities!
Exploring other timeline possibilities with you,
Alicia
Speaking of other possibilities…
Thank you so much to all who attended last month’s Speculative Budgeting Lab. We’ll be sharing it publicly next week, and hosting a free Zoom session to present it, highlight key differences from the real one, and potential implications and opportunities moving forward.
More details coming soon!
Hopeful Speculations Book Club
I’ve been wanting to host a space to read speculative fiction in community, that specifically explores other possibilities in the past, present and future(s).
So I’m pleased to be joined by my new friend Morgan Bath to cohost a bimonthly book club in collaboration with the Department of Imaginary Affairs, where we’ll unpack themes and character arcs, but also play with different futures methods.
To honour the quiet winter vibe, we’re kicking things off with an uber cozy yet still insightful read of the Monk and Robot duology. This is a series of two novellas (so two very short novels) and is delightfully light reading.
We’ll meet online on Wednesday January 28th at 6pm.
