thoughts from the future
Words from Sublingual’s Co-Organizers
The Grief We Inherit, The Grief We Share
We are living in an age of layered grief. It doesn’t always look like mourning. Sometimes it looks like burnout, detachment, rage, numbness. Sometimes it looks like doomscrolling, quiet quitting, canceled plans, or staring out the window wondering why you can’t quite feel anything.
We’ve Been Here Before—And We Made It Through
We’re living through a convergence of crises.
Climate chaos. Authoritarian power grabs. Economic shockwaves from global trade wars. Mass deportations and the erosion of democratic norms. A fractured information landscape. It’s no wonder so many of us feel like we’re watching the edges of empire come undone.
The good news? This isn’t the first time humanity has faced a great unraveling.
Your Superpower in Disguise
The world around us fuels catastrophizing. The 24/7 news cycle thrives on worst-case scenarios. Headlines about the climate, policy changes, or societal shifts pull us into a reactive state. It’s easy to feel powerless, caught in a storm of speculation. But here’s the truth: resilience isn’t about ignoring these fears. It’s about transmogrifying them—acknowledging the uncertainty and choosing how to respond.
Ditch the Hacks: Developing skills that *actually* matter in 2025
Inner-development skills often get reduced to clichés: mindfulness apps, gratitude journals, and emotional intelligence workshops that barely scratch the surface. These quick fixes are like treating symptoms without addressing the root causes. The real power of soft skills lies in the deeper, transformative work of personal growth.
The Revolution will not be streamed
As we enter 2025, the core truth of Scott-Heron's anthem resonates louder than ever, but the terrain has shifted. The screens aren’t just in our living rooms—they’re in our hands, pockets, and minds. Our lives are mediated through algorithms, our activism filtered through hashtags, and our outrage commodified for ad revenue. So, what does it mean to resist in the age of constant connectivity?
Balancing Acts in Leadership
When we approach situations or individuals with genuine curiosity, we create space for growth and understanding, we signal to others that we value their perspective and are open to learning from them. This approach can transform potential conflicts into opportunities for collaboration and innovation.