Science fiction literature and movies are obsessed with the story line, and the film industry has made billions of dollars from it: a time traveller goes backwards in time. Changes (‘corrects’) a small thing – and voila: the current present or still to be future turns out to be good. Or at least so much better. Just think: Back to the Future 1 to 3, A ground hog day, Terminator 1 and 2, Primer … many a film has successfully commercialised the paradoxes that are inherent in the concept of time travel on the one hand, but also due to a deep believe we humans seem to harbour: small things can change the world … if only many, many years down the line.
The more scientific version of this concept is known as the ‘Butterfly Effect’. The more artistic literary version is illustrated in Wangari Maathai’s ‘I will be a hummingbird’.
Small things matter – or do they?
The strange thing though is – and in particular in the context of sustainability and planetary boundaries – small things matter and are important. But the time requires big and bold things to happen.
The challenge that comes in the shape of this juxtaposition is important: few of us earthlings feel in the position to do ‘big things’. But ‘small things’ – of course we feel capable enough to achieve them.
How many individuals though have been told, have heard more often than they care to admit, words similar to the following: ‘Oh well, that’s OK what you’re trying there, but it’s just a drop into the ocean, it won’t bring change at the scale we need’; ‘sure go ahead, but do not expect that this has any fundamental effect or really changes anything’.
The big things are hence often thrown in direction of corporates, governments and or international organisations. And yet – all of these organisations yet again also are the sum of many individual human beings, each of whom barely feels empowered enough to do ‘small things’.
The sum of small things
Of course big, bold action is needed.
But maybe the trick is to break big, bold action down in many, tiny, very simple things that any human finds possible to complete.
Big and bold can be intimidating. So intimidating that we lose all motivation to try.
But small and feasible is ok. And then some more of the same. And then some. A mountain of small and simple amounting to one big and bold.
Needed: More Inspiration by Science Fiction
Sometimes science fiction is not all bad.
It certainly would not be a bad thing for us as a global society to take a slice of the inspiration from, say, the writers of Back to the Future.
Small things may not change the world on their own, in the here and in the now.
But unless we can make small things happen, big and bold things will never ever even be within the realm of possibility.
On a personal level, I no doubt have to admit: nothing I feel able to achieve in my life time seems like big bold ‘stuff’.
Small bold stuff at best.
Just small stuff though in most cases, however hard I try.
But it is the best I can – and that’s what I commit to.
