Staying grounded in your vision for change is central to stay course when doing change work. People maintain the status quo because keeping things the same can feel safe, even if the status quo isn’t supporting our wholeness. So when you share a grounded vision for what’s possible, you give people a sense that they can survive and thrive through the change.

We all benefit from practices that help us ground into our vision for what’s possible. Many justice seeking people are mired in the problems, but you need to actively be in spaces where you can hope and vision.

As a trainer of activists, I am cautious about to creating rooms that feel like a utopia because I don’t think it’s a set-up for people to leave workshops and integrate their experiences into their everyday life. And I find utopias a useful space for visioning, dreaming, and practice being in the worlds we strive to create. That’s why I create theatre.

In January 2016, I directed a theatre piece that invited audiences to imagine a world without the oppressions we know. This immersive piece premiered the weekend of the U.S. presidential inauguration, and people came directly from protests to the performances. Audience members spoke of their gratitude for an opportunity to remember that our collective power can bring us beyond our present circumstance.

Visioning helps people be present with what’s just beyond view. Take some time to vision today, so you have more access to your full wisdom as you work to change the world.