A modest spot for dreaming
In a perfect world, this project wouldn’t exist. Or more precisely, it wouldn’t need to exist because there would be a real brick-and-mortar Department of Dreams in every city. The DoDs would be across the street from public schools (which would swap standardized tests in favor of dream-friendly subjects like art, music, and dance) and in close proximity to City Hall (where dreams would be implemented). They would definitely be next to parks and green spaces (which would be plentiful), and in this scenario, the Department of Dreams might also share space with a public kitchen (which would prepare meals with produce harvested from community gardens).
Clearly this scenario describes a city that looks a lot different than what our cities actually look like. Cities seem to have a lot of departments designed to keep things running and maintain order (or control, depending on how you look at it). There are fire departments, police departments, public works departments, sanitation departments, and probably a bunch of archaic stuff I’m not even aware of. But why not a Department of Dreams? No, seriously. Why is there a department that’s specifically designed to handle your poop, but not one that’s designed to assist with dreams?
I’d like to see a brick-and-mortar DoD someday, but until then, I’ve taken the small liberty of installing a modest “Dream Spot” in my neighborhood. Technically, this Dream Spot is an uncommissioned project, which I suppose is another way of saying that it is technically illegal (I’ll come back to that point in a future post). But please, for the sake of dreaming, let’s not get too technical. Plus, how could dreaming be illegal?
The poster text says, “Attention: You are entering a Dream Spot. This Dream Spot is open & you are encouraged to start dreaming. Intrigued? Bewildered? Confused, but curious? Get involved! Scan the QR code to contribute your dream to the Dream Files. No dream is too big or too small. Dreams are accepted 24/7. Dreaming is a human right. Thank you for dreaming!”
Would you put up a Dream Spot in your neighborhood? If so, where would you put it and who do you think would see it?
