I crouched down and pressed the charcoal into the cement. Black thick lines formed letters and words. “We are the dreamers. We are the dream.”

I paused to observe the collective unplanned menagerie of art. Amber brought the charcoal to the Sego Lily School play group for everyone to share that sparklingly clear Tuesday morning. The wood transformed by heat unleashed our imaginations.Gabriel drew a sun and held up his charcoal stained hands. Zach drew a dog and an owl with prominent all seeing eyes. Then he wrote a long circular chain of numbers and letters that connected everyone’s art in an arc. Amber drew shapes and lines in a modern style that reminded me of Joan Miro’s work. Chad carefully crafted a scene with mountains and a river. I stood in awe of the diversity and spontaneity. I settled into a pensive mood like a rock coming to rest in a pond. We are the dreamers and this is the dream. The dream to have a school in Salt Lake City modeled after the Sudbury Valley School. A dream that began with Jen and Craig’s vision for their children and slowly gathered momentum as others planted that dream seed and it began to sprout inside them too. A dream that will help children live their dreams with courage, daring, and brilliance.

I often find myself in deep states of contemplation during the Tuesday morning play groups. Moments and details coalesce to spark new synapse patterns and suddenly I see things in a new or deeper way. That day we broke the monotony of the grey cement with our charcoal art and the clear blue Utah sky offered endless possibilities. I wondered about what each of the kids at play group would create in their lives, what their passions, interests, and dreams would be as they grew up in the Sego Lily School community. A quiet peace filled me as I realized that our school would support them in fulfilling their dreams and that the greatness of their visions would nourish society.

Dreams come from inside us. Webster’s Dictionary defines dream as, “an aspiration, goal, aim, something greatly desired, excellent or beautiful.” As a verb, to dream means “to imagine as possible, conceive, to form in the imagination.” A dreamer is defined as “a person who has bold or highly speculative ideas or plans, a visionary.” I’d like to add that dreams are that which we long for most, our guiding inspiration. I love the language of these definitions for they conjure images of audacity and invention.

I think that taking time to dream is as important as following our dreams. By giving our imagination free reign one can explore herself/himself and reality. While achieving one’s dreams can offer great internal satisfaction and wonderfully brilliant contributions to society, I don’t think happiness necessarily stems from the fulfillment of all dreams. Some dreams are meant to be dreamt only. One of the facets that I am most curious about is an individual’s belief in her/his dream and her/his ability to create it. This sense of being able to create one’s deepest desires in their lives I perceive to be linked to self-esteem, confidence, and self-directed motivation.

I’ve had big dreams and small dreams. Dreams that I’ve lived, dreams that I’ve outgrown, and dreams I cherish for my future. Some of my dreams are about personal achievements and experiences and others are about being of service to others. When I was about 13, I dreamt of playing on the Women’s National Soccer Team. At 8, I dreamt of being a dancer. Today, in this moment, I am living my dream to travel to Hawaii. I am writing from a library in Maui in the town of Makawao, on the side of the looming shield volcano Haleakala. My supreme satisfaction arises from living my dreams. This is soul work, pushing through the doubt and obstacles until the magic of my desires for the world have come to fruition. I love watching other people live their dreams too. A resounding YES bubbles through my visceral layers in a life affirming vibrancy.

How does the Sudbury Valley School model of education help children live their dreams? The simplest answer is by not standing in their way.

It gives them one of the greatest gifts, time…time to explore their thoughts, pursue their interests, and achieve their goals. This is in contrast to other models of education that fill children’s time with mandatory worksheets, lineups, and rehearsed lessons. In Dumbing Us Down, John Gatto eloquently describes this process. “Working for official favor, grades, or other trinkets of subordination, these have no connection with education-they are the paraphernalia of servitude.”

At Sego Lily School children will be following their inclinations rather than learning how to subdue them in favor of the dictates of another person or system that deems how they should spend their time. From this freedom they will create whatever they desire. This will naturally lead to the fulfillment of their dreams as they have the time and support to bring forth their visions. This pattern will carry over after they leave Sego Lily School and will equip them with the skills necessary to be active dream weavers in their community. What would a society of people acting from the place of deepest inner inspiration look like?

I love asking people, “If money were not an issue, what would you choose to do?” When I listen to answers about building country homes, pursuing music, traveling, starting retreat centers, living communally, and studying languages I know I am hearing the language of dreams. So many adults in our society do not follow their dreams. The mortgages, obligations, and fears seem too big. I believe that many people learned to shut down their belief in their ability to manifest their dreams through an educational system that favors control over creativity. I feel a sense of loss and sadness around this. What great contribution are we all missing because people’s dreams went unnourished? What complex problems have been left unsolved because we have held ourselves back with models of education that stint our natural ability to learn? I’d like to sprinkle this suffering of unfulfilled dreams with the elixir of hope so that as a society we may support visionaries.

Sego Lily School is a fountain of hope for children and future generations in the Salt Lake Valley. Their dreams will bloom with the power and magnificence of which we are all capable. That Tuesday morning in the park, my contemplation ended as a red winged black bird darted in front of me before landing on a near by branch. The kids washed their charcoal laden hands and snacked on fruit and chips. I glanced to my quotation surrounded by art work and laughed to the sky. We are the dreamers. We are the dream.