About once a year, I review the foundational Leverage Points essay by Donella Meadows. Like a great painting or novel, new insights emerge every time.

This year, the essay led me down a path to Meadows’ talk at a 1994 academic conference, where the stated topic was Envisioning a Sustainable World. Courageously setting her academic presentation aside, Dana noted that as we are trained in our various fields of analysis and decision-making and specialized knowledge, we are “systematically un-trained” in visioning, much to our detriment. 

We can share our cynicism with total strangers, but we can’t share our dreams, our hopes, our deepest longings. Why?

Once you are clear in your vision, you will see it in pieces and patches everywhere, coming into being.

Don’t grasp too hard.

Just notice.

Dear friends, vision needs practice, like anything else.

Let’s speak our dreams, even if a whisper.

Let’s look for the pieces and patches,

coming into being.