The Dream Manifesto

A changing climate entails changing dreams,

They tell us to never give up on our dreams, to dream big,
to dream as long as we breathe.

But in our world, these dreams that were promised to us – whispered in the form of bed time stories, placated on large publicity boards – are fossil fueled dreams.

Our world can no longer sustain the dreams we were promised.

I used to dream of being an art curator, in great big museums, in great big cities, with great big money. I dreamed I would fly all over the world, have a wonderful wardrobe, a large apartment with a view of the city from above and perhaps a house in the countryside where I could paint, get away from the madness of the shuffling and bustling streets
just for a little while.

I dreamed the big dreams of our fossil societies.

I gave up on that dream, the life I dreamed of could not be sustained
by a world with limits.

We are taught to never give up on our dreams. The empty American dream, the oil fueled dream of consumption and eternal comfort.

Better choose to give up on my dreams than be forced
to do so in a decade.

To coldly, coolly look at the physicality of our world, to understand the dreams we were promised can longer be.

The big house, the big job, the big shop, the big holidays
halfway across the world.

Today, I have a dream, that we give up our fossil fueled dreams. To find new dreams. To find new dreams with meaning.
To dream big, away from big oil.

When I close my eyes to go to sleep, I no longer dream of the big curator, in the big cities with the big apartment.

I dream of a garden, a small cottage, the air smells faintly of sea salt, my hands are covered in earth and life is fulfilling.