The role of art and meditation in building the future we all deserve.

A few years ago, my friend and talented artist Xena Ni led me in a reflection exercise: what could my neighborhood in Washington, DC, look like 100 years into the future? She calls this Futuretelling. We traveled together, and through the meditation she guided me in, we dreamed up the future of my neighborhood.

Because the meditation activated all my senses—she asked me, what does it smell like when you open your front door?—the vision I left with was vivid. And I liked it. The future we imagined felt good. Because I could feel it so clearly, it has stayed with me. It serves as a regular reminder that a better future is possible and worth fighting for.

And surprise, surprise — my vision for the future of my neighborhood involved cooperatives! And a party. We dreamed up what my my sunday morning 100 years from now might look like — I was preparing for a community party. I walked with my cart to the neighborhood farmers market where I gathered my groceries to cook for the party. I stopped to spend some time weeding in the community farm where I contribute each week. I then went home to my townhome and started cooking; the water and solar power to my townhome was provided through community-owned and managed electrical companies.

Here’s the full, beautiful illustrated fiction Xena Ni depicted of my neighborhood 100 years from now.

To convince us that it is worth investing in alternative systems - like cooperatives - we need to feel it’s worth the effort. Meditations and art-making like the work of Xena help us to feel, in our bodies, that a better future is possible and worth working towards.