Icarus wasn’t a bad kid; he was just the wrong type of optimist for the situation at hand. I actually have quite a bit of time for kids willing to fly too close to the sun in the pursuit of more. But back then, what we needed was Daedaluses. That’s why it’s the father’s image and not the son’s that gives shape to the Institute’s crest. Traveller, do you know what we study here? You might have heard it called Constructive Optimism. Constructive optimists struck the first fire with persistence and experimentation, not simply by smashing the same two rocks together or sitting on their heels and hoping for warmth, by watching nature’s flame, observing spark and spread and imagining with their hands. Or perhaps in your time you know it as Practical Optimism. Practical optimists removed the CFCs from their fridges and watched the hole in the ozone layer close over their heads and the heads of the naysayers alike. Or Applied Optimism, which ignited the New Enlightenment, turned Jackpot to Blip, tearing down the billionaires’ weaponised echo-chambers, gave equal stage to all minds, bringing colour and complexity and nuance to the world’s solutions. This is what we teach here, the implementation of optimism. Action over hope – stay a while and study with us. Revel, traveller, in the improbabilities and see the implied possibilities – see the future you want and reach for it. Let me ask you: if a caterpillar can soup itself and emerge a butterfly, what isn’t possible? A caterpillar, you say, has no choice. Well, traveller, that is true.
Angela Cleland is a poet, novelist, audiobook narrator and educator. Her most recent collection is Real Cute Danger, published by Broken Sleep. Angela’s work is often very dark, so the call to thrutopic thinking has presented a welcome challenge to engage in brighter imaginings.
I absolutely love this! I wish every single person on the planet could take 2 minutes to read this. You so beautifully capture the opportunity we have collectively and individually. Reading this has set me up perfectly for the rest of my day (and beyond!).
this is wonderful, i love being called traveller. yes, i think i'd like to stay. <3