National Dream Day
Chase your dreams on National Dream Day, celebrated annually on March 11. The holiday was created to make everyone, both old and young, realize that they can build and go after their dreams. It is inspired by “The Millennium Man,” Robert Muller, and is celebrated on his birthday every year. The Dream School Foundation, whose sole mission is to make every child’s dream come true, started the holiday especially for children, although it inspires all ages.
History of National Dream Day
People are generally made to believe dreams are like fairytales — to be enjoyed but never lived out. National Dream Day was created to debunk that belief and encourage anyone at any age to pursue their dreams, no matter how crazy they may seem. Robert Muller, who was a former Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations, was the major inspiration for the holiday.
Muller had amazing ideas concerning world peace and governance, which motivated him to enter this millennium, encouraging mankind to dream and act towards a better, more loving, and peaceful world. These ideologies led to his adopted title “The Millennium Man.” Muller was born in Belgium in 1923. His childhood home was right on the border of Germany and France. Growing up in the World War II era, he had a firsthand experience of political and cultural struggles, which inspired his cause and the decision to work in the United Nations from a very young age.
He went through the horrors of being a refugee, of imprisonment and escape, and even became a member of the French Resistance. He joined the United Nations as an intern at the age of 25, where he devoted the next 40 years of his life. Several awards, nominations, 14 books, and thousands of writings later, he retired to Costa Rica in 1986, where he worked as chancellor of the U.N.’s University for Peace, an institution he helped establish. He also conceived the Bench of Dreams and the Dream Bench Diary.
National Dream Day Activities
1.Visit the Bench of Dreams
If you find yourself in the Costa Rica area at this time, make sure you take some time out to visit the Bench of Dreams. It’s located at the base of Mt. Rasur near the cottage where Robert Muller lived, overlooking the University for Peace. Visitors are asked to put a pebble in each hand, close their eyes, dream, and toss one of the pebbles into the garden, keeping one for themselves as a memory.
2.Write down your dreams
This day presents the perfect opportunity to reflect on your dreams and build on them. Muller encouraged writing them down as he himself penned down “2000 dreams and ideas for the year 2000.” Take some time out to write down your dreams today, so you can tick them off when they come true.
3.Create a Bench of Dreams
If we don’t have the opportunity to visit Costa Rica, we are also encouraged to create our Bench of Dreams or Bottom of Dreams in our community. Start by inviting all your friends and family to participate in the fun activity. It can become a major source of hope and inspiration to your entire community.
Why Do We Love National Dream Day?
A. All dreams matter
Even the little ones, and this day was created to emphasize that fact. So, no matter how little or how crazy your dream may seem, write it down and work towards it.
B. It provides hope
National Dream Day serves as a source of inspiration for individuals of all ages to pursue whatever dreams they may have. It gives people far and wide the hope to keep dreaming, knowing that one day it will all come true as long as they never stop working towards it.
C. A peacemaker inspired it
Robert Muller was a pioneer of peace and a visionary, to say the least. When he passed away, he left a legacy of the power of dream chasing, and we are glad such a wonderful day could be made in honor of that.
References:
“National Dream Day” │ https://nationaltoday.com/national-dream-day/