letter from the future
Dear daughter,
Today is International Women’s Day 2036 which fits perfectly to my intention of writing to you about what has changed in the past 15 years in our society. You are turning 18 this year. I am very pleased that we live in this neighbourhood with such diverse friends, that you are being empowered by your teachers and feel connected to your classmates, that we live in this green city that provides people with affordable housing, and that we have a great church which allows God to remain mysterious and does not turn Him into a moral authority.
It was not always like this. You know that when you were two years old, we went through a severe crisis triggered by Covid-19 although the causes of the crisis were reaching further back into the past. You have heard a lot about how severe the problems were: the climate change, exploding housing markets, recession, deep social cleavages, nationalism and discrimination. And how close we came to a societal, ecologic and economic collapse. We still face multiple challenges but today’s world is very different from the world 15 years ago.
In our neighbourhood, people from all generations live together and I never thought that this place would attract people from all over the world. Among your friends are teenagers raised by their two mums, their grandparents, their single dad, their mum and dad. All of them are strong, authentic and loveable persons although (or perhaps because) everyone had to face serious crises in their lives. It’s such a pleasure to come together with our friends to celebrate, to mourn, to argue, and to support each other.
You are about to finish school. Your teachers taught you to engage critically in discourses, to speak out without fear, to listen to and actually understand others, to get along with children that are very different from yourself, to express disagreement and have arguments without being offensive or feeling offended, to build authentic relationships, to express your needs. This is what I wanted for you as my child and now that I think about it, I hope this is also what you learnt from us and, more importantly, with us as your parents (since we are learners, too).
Once you will begin your studies at university (whenever that will be), I am sure you will find a place similar to your school with a strong, supportive community and the freedom to pursuit your dreams and visions about the transformation of our earth into a more peaceful and healthier planet.
After the Covid19 crisis, we have explored so many places around the world, and I am so happy that you will continue the adventures and travel to many more unique spots with unique people and you may invite them to visit you and they may come because the borders and our house are open. They can come to this beautiful, green city on a hydrogen run airplane and they can explore every corner of this city by train or bicycle. They can admire the lush woods full of wildlife and they can taste the diversity of its culture by eating through the numerous restaurants and bars, and they can learn how we overcame the crisis in the city’s fantastic museums.
Bring them to our church which is a light and inviting place, rooted in the present, where both women and men preach and lead, where decisions are made collectively, where people have a space for their spiritual life and can come with their doubts.
I know the future is full of uncertainty but we have come a long way since 2021 and you have everything it takes to find and dig out the good and the beautiful of this world and make it shine. It’s already there.
Love
Mum