# Change is in the Air — Finding New Tomorrows Through Creative Inspiration

By [Nifemi Aluko](https://paragraph.com/@nifemi-aluko) · 2022-08-26

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Art can be used for different things.

Beyond the aesthetics, it can be used as a tool to speak on what is going on in today’s world. It can be a mirror that is held up to reflect the happenings of our times. Whether its music, a painting, writing (fiction or non-fiction), creative inspirations can be used to document our past, discuss the present, and prepare us for tomorrow.

> Even through works of fiction, the storyteller can use stories to bring light to a situation, leading people out of the dark or letting them see beyond their blind spots.

So how do we find new tomorrows through creative inspirations?

That’s what I hoped to do as I wrote Toffy’s Divide. Set in the year of 2049, Toffy’s Divide is a futuristic tale of what life can look like when technological advancements are at odds with our humanity, and the role that storytelling has in breaking away to chart a different and brighter tomorrow.

**_Bringing us out of the dark: Toffy’s Divide Celebrates Storytelling_**
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At its core, Toffy’s Divide is a storyteller’s story.

In the story, Toffy (the protagonist) struggles with the pull of his ever-connected and automated world that he has helped to build. This synthesized world is at odds with his itch to write his own story. Through the journey, we see how Toffy interacts with the world around him. How he weighs his decision and the inner conflict of fitting into the mold and forging his own path.

Through storytelling, he questions the world and the “serene system” that he has constructed for himself. As the reader follows Toffy along his journey and through his mind, it provides some insights into possible decisions we could all be facing in 30 years.

> Storytelling can help bring awareness to marginalized perspectives, fostering the environment for conversations and empathy-building to begin.

The storyteller, whether it’s the author of the book, or the protagonist (in this case, Toffy), uses stories to convey certain truths. Even through works of fiction, the storyteller can use stories to bring light to a situation, leading people out of the dark or letting them see beyond their blind spots.

It allows them to question the current status, traditions, and accepted convention. This curious examination of the present is a very powerful tool of storytelling and how it can be used.

**_Sparking meaningful dialogue around today’s issues_**
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Creative inspiration through storytelling not only brings light to issues and allows people to question the current convention, it also sparks necessary dialogue that brings people together. It allows new solutions to be found within communities.

One of the [main ingredient for innovation is empathy](https://medium.com/press-play-book/using-musics-power-of-building-empathy-as-a-springboard-for-innovation-7c19700142dd) — being able to walk in another person’s shoes. Storytelling can help bring awareness to marginalized perspectives, fostering the environment for conversations and empathy-building to begin.

Most difficult challenges that we face require collective and coordinated effort to solve. Storytelling can provide the context that get a collective on the same page (no pun intended). It fosters meaningful dialogue that allows us to imagine a newer and better tomorrow, while providing a foundation to build it out collectively.

> I just wanted to use my creative inspiration to spotlight some of today’s issues, hopefully generate dialogue, and find new tomorrows through storytelling.
> 
> You can do the same too.

**_Searching for ideal worlds: An important theme in Toffy’s Divide_**
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Another important theme in _Toffy’s Divide_ is the search for the “ideal world”. An ideal world, situation, or life. This is not directly referenced within the book but the characters are on a continuous quest to find what is best for them and some actually do care about what is best or ideal for them and the people around them.

What is ideal, anyway? 🤔

An ideal world varies form person to person. Collectively, however, we are yet to define what is ideal in this world since there is still significant inequality, which is currently growing. This was explored in the book by looking at the extreme — a world (J City) that’s highly-divided, with a clear line between the haves and haves-not, and how technology (controlled by a few) can be used to aggravate this extreme situations.

The protagonist has to search within his own privilege, whether he lets go of his comfort to explore into uncharted territory with his story. In his quest to find his own ideal world.

Does he find this ideal world? Well……. You’ll have to find out yourself 😀..when you get and read your copy of [_TOFFY’S DIVIDE_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09JZB68NR/).

When I started writing Toffy’s Divide in 2016, I did not plan to write a book that would be the template of what will happen in 2049.

My plan was never to prescribe how people should behave or come across as preachy. I just wanted to use my creative inspiration to spotlight some of today’s issues, hopefully generate dialogue, and find new tomorrows through storytelling.

You can do the same too.

_Featured Photo by_ [_drmakete lab_](https://unsplash.com/@drmakete?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText) _on_ [_Unsplash_](https://unsplash.com/s/photos/future-city?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText)

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*Originally published on [Nifemi Aluko](https://paragraph.com/@nifemi-aluko/change-is-in-the-air-finding-new-tomorrows-through-creative-inspiration)*
