OK. I have a confession to make. I love the Container Store, and I recently realized it’s for the same reasons that I love Dreamline.
So I’m comparing my life’s work as an educator with a chain store in shopping malls?
Yes, actually. But here’s how I got there….
At this time of year people in my hemisphere are getting ready to go back to school, to get stuff that’s for organzing and getting set. So among other places, my wife and I found ourselves in The Container Store this past weekend. Rows upon rows of ways to store things in your closet, your desk, your kitchen, pretty much everywhere.
So how’s that connected to Dreamline?
Well at the Container Store, no one is telling you what clothing to wear, no one is telling you what to cook or eat, and no one is telling you what to write at your desk. You decide. But with good organization, you get efficiency, the chance to integrate with other parts of your life, and the capacity to change over time. All true for Deamline and Dream Flags.
But let’s go a little deeper. To the lunch container section. My favorite.
I did find an absolutely terrific new lunch container. Here’s what it looks like.
And, as you can see, it has great features.
- It’s sturdy and closes securely, to protect my lunch from getting smooshed.
- It’s the right size to hold what I want to eat.
- It’s an easy shape to pack and carry to the lunchroom where I eat with others.
- Also a good shape to wash so I can use it again next day.
You can see this demonstrated in the next 12 seconds by clicking below:
In short, it reflects my values, both for myself and my community. And it brings me out into the world as I eat lunch with others
This is what Dreamline does. No wonder I like it so much!
- The flag is a safe place to pack my dreams.
- I pack my flag with my deep desires and things that are good for me–my dreams to share with the world.
- What I pack fits on a certain size piece of cloth, connected to a line–that makes it easy to take out into the world and share with others–on Dreamline and in other places.
- My dreams benefit my community and me; they change as I change, and I can make a new flag next year–through the same program.
That’s how the Dreamline works. How it grows and is growing.
So that’s my back-to-school reflection.
If you’ve been reading this blog, you already realize this has been an exceptional summer for Dreamline. More great blogs on that coming soon from friends in Morocco and elsewhere.
But if you’ve been reading headlines, you also realize that there is an urgency for helping our students in the direction of their dreams like nothing before.
A great start in that direction is to tap into Character Day on Sept. 13 in whatever way you can.
We already have a “container,” a Dreamline, to carry and connect the heart melodies of our students, this year and every year. But the box is meaningless without its content. Because of Dreamline teachers who invite and support students as they declare and share their dreams, and because of who our students really are, that content is transformative again and again. And we all need it now.
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