Dreaming about the Ethics Centre
by Simon Longstaff
As I write these words, I have in the back of my mind a deceptively simple question that was recently asked of me. The man simply asked, “What are your dreams (for the Centre)?”
His question came from out of the blue. It was asked with kindness and genuine curiosity. And it stopped me in my tracks. After all, how often is one ever asked such a beguiling question; one that invites such an open response? My answer at the time was inadequate and the question has not left me. Nor will it.
How often do we give each other a chance to dream – let alone discuss our hopes and aspirations? How often do we invite people to go beyond the world of “what must be” to embrace the possibilities of “what might be”? I suspect that the opportunity is rarely given. Instead, we box people in with systems, methodologies and frameworks that render some ideas virtually invisible. Of course, some dreams are consciously rejected. However, many more are ignored because of their failure to adopt a form that fits preconceived notions of what is possible – let alone desirable.
One effect of this phenomenon is that some truly wonderful dreams are left undiscovered. Worse still, their authors are all too frequently left to reach the conclusion that dreaming is futile, delusionary and ultimately, self-destructive. Then it is easy to surrender hope of a better world and to enter the margins of despair – a space within which nothing good is expected and therefore, nothing good happens.
Other dreams seem capable of blooming in the harshest of conditions – often taking on a life of their own as they grow in stature. Then, the dreamer may be quite forgotten – eclipsed by a transcendent idea.
It seems to me that neither situation is desirable; for in each case the inherent dignity of the person seems to be lost from sight. If only we could learn to value dreams that operate on a human scale. If only we could make room for the unorthodox and eccentric. Then, we might create a space in which the dreams of many more would be realised – a space in which to maintain hope.
As to my dream for the Ethics Centre? It is that we become a place where those who dare to dream find practical support for their vision of a better world. What would be yours?
discuss this articleDr Simon Longstaff is Executive Director of St James Ethics Centre.
This article was first published in City Ethics (now Living Ethics), issue 36, winter 1999
© St James Ethics Centre