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![](\"https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/5e84efda60e4d00e0351db58\/1731533774592-0HJOBW3V409F751F4RB3\/Pia.png?format=1500w\")
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A few days after the elections, I visited Pia the Troll.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It had been about a year since the first time I\u2019d met her. Our community is accustomed to stories about coyotes and even the occasional sighting of a bobcat, bear, or possibly a cougar, but a giant lady troll. . . I\u2019d written it off as just another urban myth. So, I wanted to see for myself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I followed the directions posted around town and headed along a dirt trail. As I passed through a wooded glen, my eyes glued to the tree roots that threatened to trip me, I was suddenly blinded by a spear of sunlight that flashed across the path. I raised my eyes and before me was. . .<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re the troll.\u201d<\/p>\n
She was gigantic. \u201cYes. I\u2019m Pia.\u201d She was sitting on the ground, her left leg tucked close to her body, her right leg slightly bent, her two hands stretched out in front of her, as though she wanted to hug me. She gave me the hint of a smile. \u201cAt your service.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought you were a myth, a figment of the imagination.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyebrows arched. \u201cImagination? What\u2019s that anyway?\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood there dumbfounded. Then I remembered my father. \u201cMy dad was a Latin teacher,\u201d I blurted.\u00a0 \u201cSo, I know that the word comes from the Latin imaginari \u2013 meaning both \u2018to see oneself\u2019 and also, \u2018I the magus \u2013 magician.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood,\u201d she replied. \u201cYou can see yourself in me. I\u2019m a peacekeeper, and that requires magic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Was a troll actually talking to me? Or was I imagining it?\u00a0 \u201cPia, the Peacekeeper,\u201d I muttered. \u201cIt\u2019s got a nice ring to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGlad you like it,\u201d came her response. \u201cOnly problem is, to keep the peace, there has to be peace. And right now, there\u2019s lots of wars \u2013 against nature, as well as people.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d I heaved a sigh of relief. This was more familiar ground \u2013 the theme of the book I was writing.\u00a0\u201cWe\u2019ve created a degenerative Death Economy that is consuming and polluting itself toward extinction. . .\u201d<\/p>\n
That was my first encounter with Pia.<\/p>\n
Now, here I was again, standing before her. Things had changed since that first visit. Donald Trump had been elected again, my book had been published, and I\u2019d visited Pia several more times. Imagination or not, she\u2019d become an anchor for my meditations.<\/p>\n
I found myself at her feet once again. \u201cHave you followed the elections?\u201d I asked. \u201cThe country\u2019s divided. What\u2019s a writer like me to do?\u201d<\/p>\n
There was a long pause. I was about to turn away when I heard, \u201cFocus\u2026 on local stories.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s the alternative to a Death Economy?\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer came right out of my book: \u201cA regenerative Life Economy that pays people to clean up pollution, rejuvenate destroyed environments, recycle, and develop technologies that don\u2019t ravage the planet. It leads to societies that produce locally as much as possible, don\u2019t generate trash, and take care of people and animals who are unable to help themselves \u2013 an Ecological Civilization.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you have that here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n
It took a bit of time before I found an answer. \u201cBecause this community, like so many, bought into the story that success is measured by maximizing materialistic consumption and short-term profits.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAh-hah\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cThe story. That\u2019s your answer. All you have to do is create a new story.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The thought stopped me. Could it really be so simple? In that moment I realized that the presidential election had been about two competing stories. However, neither of them did much to promote an Ecological Civilization.\u00a0 \u201cHow?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cImagination. It\u2019s all about the stories you share. Time to re-imagine yourselves \u2013 become magicians, agents of change.\u201d Towering above my head, she gave me a conspiratorial smile. \u201cWrite.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWrite?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWriting is storytelling, isn\u2019t it? Magic that changes reality. So, write about what this community can do to create an Ecological Civilization. Be a model.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI tend to think in more global terms. I write about international economics.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe global has to start somewhere. The world needs models. If not here, then where? If not now, when?\u201d<\/p>\n
I gave a little shout, \u201cYes!\u201d Then I quickly glanced around, embarrassed. Thankfully, no one else was there.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hear a lot of \u2018ought tos,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cAnd \u2018should dos,\u2019 that kind of preachy hogwash. It\u2019s downright frustrating.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI agree,\u201d I replied. \u201cA waste of time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow about,\u201d she continued, \u201cwriting stories that imagine being where you want to be in 25 years \u2013 and how you got there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwenty five years\u2026 2050.\u201d Her words spun a tapestry of thoughts. \u201cWe could,\u201d I mused, \u201cinvite people to write stories about living in an Ecological Civilization in 2050 \u2014 and the concrete actions they took to make it happen.\u201d Images flowed of popular events like trivia nights and live music. \u201cOffer readings at some of the local coffee shops and the bookstore. Produce an anthology. Award prizes for the most creative.\u201d<\/p>\n
She gave me a big grin. \u201cMagic is fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
A few days after the elections, I visited Pia the Troll.\u00a0 It had been about a year since the first time I\u2019d met her. Our community is accustomed to stories about coyotes and even the occasional sighting of a bobcat, bear, or possibly a cougar, but a giant lady troll. . . I\u2019d written it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22536,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12022],"tags":[11282,3201,15114,15115,15116],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-22535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-activist","tag-advice","tag-john","tag-perkins","tag-postelection","tag-troll"],"yoast_head":"\n