It is said if you look long enough you will find what you are looking for—or it will find you.  So, after a couple of months of not feeling inspired or excited to write much, I finally stumbled upon an idea that just won’t let go. Of course, that idea will take a while to completely unfold, but ever since I first heard it I felt captured and inspired by a new way of looking at things—a new way of looking at life.  That idea is an optimistic protopia.  What is protopia? It is the middle way between a dystopia or a utopia.  It asks, will our futures look like a dystopian disaster where the planet and humans are fighting tooth and nail to survive?  (Think of the movies Terminator or Mad Max.)   Or will it look like a utopian dream where everything is perfect, all people are “perfect”, and nothing ever changes? Until recently no one really talked about a third alternative.  A middle way.  And that future is protopian.  I’m guessing most people never even heard of it just like me. [Read more…]