Just like Gatsby, I genuinely believe in the Green Light. The future could be wonderful, and all we have to do is reach out to make it truly dream-like.
I love indulging myself in idealistic endeavors. The very task of envisioning a world where we can follow our own voice (as my penultimate article proposed) without causing confrontation and chaos (as my last article explored) is a concept hardly imaginable as most people would associate unleashing free will and self-obsession with everyone jumping at each other’s throats.
When people just do what they would genuinely like to do without societal norms and controls, that’s when we should just pack up and go home because there’s no way people will just stay on their laps and be all peaceful. Or if they do, we will have to shut up shop and be content with recession because going after happiness and economic growth are not the best friends to have under the same roof.
However, what I personally believe in is that it’s all a matter of imagination. The world is flawed because that’s the best we could concoct. Justifying the elite private jetting to Davos or rapacious investors moving money back and forth is an anomaly we have grown accustomed to because each time someone proposes a different solution, we rationalize how hierarchy and inequality are the one viable option.
When I say that people under all circumstances should strive for deriving joy out of whatever they are up to, even if it is just about going down to the store or starting the grind after completing (under)graduate school, I do so because I genuinely see a scenario where it is possible. Generative AI and human-like chatbots are not the paradigm shift we need, but a world which finally stops slacking on imagination, our visionary capacity to chase a future of captivating promise and potential.
There’s simply nothing wrong with getting lost in daydreams if it is not merely an escape from reality but an active pursuit of better possibilities. Things only remain a pipe dream because we walk away before succeeding. However, everything truly changes when we embrace the power behind imagining things. We recite the ABC because there are letters coming after A and B. There’s a way to get to Z, so we do it. Taking a step back from today’s conventional techniques and going after what we believe in might sound initially scary, but in the end of the day even the biggest CEOs are just like you and me – human beings with their own dreams and feelings.
If it is a joke that makes you happy, or going around in shorts and a comfy hoodie, don’t grow weak in the knees and fear a world that expects the opposite because there’s a slight chance that all those in the room are sweating the same tears and crippling under the same fears, all waiting for one with the guts to do things differently.
Similarly to the proximity of love and hate, imagining the best is not at all that far from always assuming the worst and seeing everyone as the enemy. In either case, we haven’t yet faced reality, we are just going with hunches and guesses. And an additional similarity is that no matter which direction we take, the world will change accordingly. If my teachers keep blabbering about an unwelcoming world out there where I can only fit in if first they break me, then no wonder that I will come to see things the same way, and those around me will be affected similarly. We will all view each other as confirming pieces, each one of us reinforcing trends and tendencies as individuals we might all hate but collectively have coalesced into sustaining.
If we could all just see each other a bit differently, if instead of assuming the worst and tailoring our actions accordingly we would surprise each other with genuine interest and the readiness to understand and cooperate, then the world might actually recognize what we did and embrace it. After all, just like the CEOs, all those on the other side will as well be human beings, people most likely fed up with bullshit and empty excuses, eager to see a world that doesn’t justify their worst fears. Put it differently, we are often in the very same shoes with not only our peers but everyone else in our little global village, so there’s a high chance that one’s seemingly unrealistic wishes allegedly shaking the foundations of a viable reality might be returning guests in everyone else’s dreams.
I over-emphasize the power of imagining things because all of our actions are based on assumptions we have of reality, merely hunches that fuel our predictions and the sequences of events we deem as likely. And the old adage might be true that for every action, there’s an equal and opposite reaction, however, it is not given how that reaction will unfold. But it is for us to determine with what type of action we will come forth, consequently affecting what type of reaction we will push our respondent into.
It is because of this that it’s essential that we distinguish between gravitational force and when a constraint is merely a human construction because while the laws of nature might indeed be inescapable, keeping us grounded even when our most heartfelt desire is to float, the rest might be up for grabs and susceptible to renewable human intervention. It is in this very spirit that the Dragon’s Alliance is called the Dragon’s Alliance instead of simply following in the footsteps of already existing organizations because as long as we shun our imagination, binding ourselves to stale conventions, the world can only go as far as the past will let it do so.
When I promote the idea of people turning inwards, taking a deep look at what it is that they can truly enjoy, and then going after their most genuine desires instead of falling in line with societal requirements and norms, I encourage us to explore even if our journey is at odds with common wisdom because I can see that not-so-unique scenario where I’m not the only one captivated by the freedom to design my own tomorrow. And such a permissive approach could indeed be feasible if on the receiving side we were not facing rigidity and obsession with conventions, but instead, had people similar to us, people craving understanding and cooperation.
Imagination is the final piece to the equation because it is for us to come up with new stereotypes and assumptions about potential interactions. And once we have managed to envision new reactions, reactions where people understand where we are coming from & where we are heading to, then we will have reason to go after whatever we can dream of. Stepping into darkness, straying off the well-trodden path is something we will not do, however, once we have a mental image of a different scenario, once our imagination is at work to help us see a better tomorrow, then we have everything we need to start moving forward.
The idea of Gatsby enchanted by the promise of the Green Light fills me with inspiration because there stands a dreamer not intimidated by the false illusion of a pre-determined tomorrow. His gift for hope is something we should all strive for, his powerful imagination seeing everything as possible is a force we should all try to hone because without that the world is nothing more than careless people screwing each other over while being irritated by whatever others are up to. But once we put aside our fears and indulge ourselves in what naysayers might call delusion, we enable ourselves and therefore each other to actually reach a better tomorrow.
And yes, in Gatsby’s case, the Green Light was indeed just a self-inflicted illusion, though it did keep him on his toes, and besides, it’s just a book, so let’s not take it more seriously than we ought to.
