Evolution of the American Dream
The Work of Wonder.
Epigraph:
In moments between sleep and wakefulness—the hypnopompic state—our minds drift freely, often revealing fragments of dreams and unconventional thoughts just before reality sets in. This fleeting state offers a glimpse of something rare: a wonder that connects us to a deeper part of ourselves, where rigid logic softens, and new possibilities emerge. As Americans grapple with a collective sense of disconnection and unfulfilled promise, we might need to reawaken this same sense of wonder to reimagine the American Dream and reclaim the pursuit of fulfilling lives, transformational innovation, and sustained economic growth.
American Dreaming
The American Dream has long been defined by three key promises: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. These ideals fueled ambition, inspired progress, and bound together generations. Today, while we’ve made undeniable advances in health, safety, and freedom, the promise of happiness remains elusive. Rising rates of depression, anxiety, and loneliness make it clear: our relentless chase for material success has distracted us from something deeper.
If America is to reclaim its future, we must redefine what it means to pursue a fulfilling life. The answer lies in reclaiming wonder—not just as an emotion but as a guiding principle for our society, economy, and workplaces. Wonder fuels curiosity, drives innovation, and connects us to our humanity. By embracing it, we can shift from a nation of constant striving to one focused on meaningful growth, resilience, and shared purpose.
Historically, the American Dream promised more than economic opportunity. It was about building a society where people could thrive. While the promise was never perfect, always messy, and uneven in application, we Americans have moved mountains toward the “Life” and “Liberty” aspirations through increased health, safety, and civil rights. The pursuit of happiness, however, still seems to be a distant horizon.
Life:
In the 19th century, the promise of life in America was fragile, threatened by high infant mortality and disease. Life expectancy nearly doubled through investments in clean water, sanitation, and vaccines. By assuring that their children could survive, society shifted from simply surviving to thriving. This advancement fueled optimism, with each generation believing in a healthier future.
Liberty:
The meaning of liberty has expanded to include more people, not just the powerful. Despite the shaky ground upon which we now stand, Civil rights movements have broadened our understanding of freedom, self-determination, and authenticity. Our nation’s technological and economic dynamism provides opportunities for freedom that our ancestors could have scarcely conceived. Today, even with all the questions about the future and even though liberty is a relative concept in America, we are still a global symbol of empowerment.
Happiness:
This is, perhaps, our greatest unaddressed promise. Despite material wealth and expanded freedoms, many Americans feel unfulfilled, caught in endless striving. Why? I believe it’s rooted in how we have commodified happiness—as something to buy or achieve—rather than a way of engaging with life.
The Declaration of Independence focused on “the pursuit” of happiness, not happiness itself. Happiness was meant as a journey, not a guaranteed destination. What if we focused more directly on the quality of our pursuit?
Spiritual Core of the American Dream: Redefining Innovation for a New Era
As a Culture Futurist, the foresight data signals I analyze for scenario planning with entrepreneurial teams, enterprises, and economies—centered around the Six P’s of Potential, Purpose, People, Performance, Place, and Presence—suggest we’re at a critical moment in America. It’s a time when something old is dying, allowing space for something deeper, more meaningful to emerge.
This shift isn’t only political; it cuts to the core of how we approach innovation in business. Today, innovation has been reduced to a relentless cycle of disruption, pressure, and quick wins, with little regard for the toll on people. If we want to reclaim the American Dream, we need to reclaim innovation as a creative cycle of deconstruction, tension, reconstruction, growth and integration. A journey that research across many disciplines shows to be fueled by wonder, trust, freedom, and joy.
It’s not a big jump from where we already are. Innovation in America has assumed an almost spiritual role, shaping both personal and collective identities. The workplace is no longer just a place for productivity; it has become a stage where individuals measure their self-worth by their ability to create change. This phenomenon isn’t confined to business; it echoes in the arts, sciences, and politics as well. But the relentless pursuit of groundbreaking goals—especially when those goals go unmet—leaves people with what I call “innovation grief”: a sense of loss tied to unfulfilled ambitions and the identities built around them. This grief accumulates, quietly eroding the very creativity that is needed to imagine the future(s) we actually want.
From a more biological point of view, resilience and well-being are also damaged by unprocessed innovation grief. Chronic dream loss triggers a neurodynamic process leading to a nasty little bugger called allostatic overload which happens when the body’s stress response is constantly activated. This, in turn, brings on long-term health risks like heart disease, depression, and cognitive decline, highlighting how chronic stress doesn’t just feel exhausting—it gradually damages the physical and mental resilience of entrepreneurial teams, companies and even economies.
Unprocessed grief from our lost dreams, not technology or economic resources, may well be our nation’s biggest innovation barrier. It is a naturally occurring human side phase of all innovation processes which inherently involve navigating failures and disappointments. If we choose to leave it unacknowledged and unaddressed, it becomes chronic and saps our ability to dream, to imagine, and to create long-term meaning and value.
Innovation grief isn’t only about loss; it’s about acceptance and renewal. Looking ahead, the American Dream challenges us to pursue innovation that connects us to our purpose, to one another, and to our shared humanity. This requires courage—the courage to ask questions, embrace complexity, and meet uncertainty with curiosity.
The American Dream has always been about possibility—and our greatest opportunity today lies in reconnecting with innovation as an invitation to wonder. Reclaiming a sense of wonder in American innovation means reclaiming our collective imagination. It means seeing the process itself as valuable—a source of reflection, growth, and resilience that catalyzes success for American business. As companies seek to make an impact, they have the chance to honor the journey, not just the destination.
Reclaiming Wonder in a Divided America
Our country faces yet another chapter in turbulent politics. As Americans wake up the morning after the 2024 presidential election, the air feels thick with division and anticipation for all, angst for some, and retribution for others. I think it’s fair that we can say the same thing about four years ago. And four years before that. Just think about it — for nearly a decade, we have been teaching ourselves to be content with living in righteous pain.
But today, I am thinking about something beyond politics—something more enduring and transformative. I am thinking about how we reclaim our sense of wonder and why it matters for our future as a nation.
Wonder isn’t just awe at the beauty of the world or the mysteries of the universe. Wonder is the foundation of our humanity. It’s the spark that drives us to create, to question, and to connect. Wonder is how we sense the interconnectedness of all things and turn that sense into art, science, businesses, and new ways of living.
Today, Americans of every political ideology seem disconnected from our country’s legendary sense of wonder. We’re caught up in identities, roles, and systems that don’t truly reflect who we are; rather, they reflect what we have allowed ourselves to become. As the late philosopher and poet John O’Donohue wrote,
“Many of us get very afraid, and we eventually compromise. We settle for something safe rather than engaging the danger and the wildness that is in our own hearts.”
We end up locking away the part of ourselves that dreams, that questions, that explores. We become scared of the wonder inside us.
This disconnection is a quiet tragedy. When we lose our connection to wonder, we lose our ability to imagine a different future. We trade possibility for predictability, and in doing so, we stifle the wild energies within us that have the power to reshape our world. This loss is particularly painful for Americans because wonder has always been at the heart of our identity. We are a country built on the audacious idea that things can be different—and better.
The beauty of wonder lies in its universality. From cosmology to neuroscience, from quantum physics to the biology of our cells, wonder weaves a common thread across all aspects of life and existence.
Cosmology teaches us about our place in the universe. We are but a speck among an estimated two trillion galaxies—a humbling reminder of our smallness and connection to something far greater than ourselves.
Quantum Physics reveals the phenomenon of entanglement, showing us that particles can influence each other across vast distances, challenging our understanding of space and time while suggesting a deep, invisible interconnectedness.
Neuroscience reveals our brains' adaptability. Through neuroplasticity, our brains can form new connections throughout our lives, reminding us of our limitless capacity for growth and change.
Biology teaches us that our bodies, comprised of around 37 trillion cells, are a marvel of complexity and coordination. We are ecosystems in our own right, built on the interconnectedness of all life.
Wonder bridges the gap between art, science, and commerce. It reminds us of our interconnectedness and drives us to explore beyond our knowledge. Yet in business, wonder is often dismissed as impractical or “soft.” But I’d argue that wonder is essential to solving the world’s toughest problems.
Reclaim Wonder. Reclaim the Future.
As Americans, what do we truly want for our future? It’s the biggest question of our time. Answers, however, seem more plentiful than meaningful. I believe wonder holds part of the answer – or at least it holds the possibility of better questions to point to the answers.
Wonder is more than awe; it’s a fundamental part of our humanity. It drives us to question, create, and connect. Wonder inspires us to look beyond ourselves, to see the world with fresh eyes, and to imagine new possibilities. The force propels us to write songs, make Art pursue science, build businesses, and seek new ways of living.
In many ways, efficiency and productivity demands have sidelined America’s sense of wonder. We’re caught in systems prioritizing predictability over potential, often locking away the parts of ourselves that dream and explore. Wonder has always been at the heart of America’s identity. It’s the spark that led our ancestors to believe in the audacious idea that things can be different—and better.
In this divided, rapidly changing nation, wonder is the North Star we need. It’s the force that can guide us through uncertainties, bridging divides and pushing us toward a more humane and connected society. Reclaiming wonder isn’t just about making life more interesting; it’s about making life more meaningful.
While the future is unknowable, one thing is knowable—all knowledge was born first as imagination. Imagination sparks in the stillness between the storms of life. Today, much as yesterday, we still wake in the pursuit of happiness. It is not the destination but the journey itself—especially if we can locate the quiet moments between thunder—that we will find our way home.
Home is not the place where you are from. “Home” means building an intentional life filled with love, curiosity, truth, and courage. Home is the place where you are allowed to be always in the discovery of your true self. Home is where you choose to release judgment to find the truth, let go of the how, know limitlessness and the purpose of joy, embrace mystery as magnificent, and choose to awaken and dream.
HOME is where you become reunited with wonder. My prayer for all Americans, each and everyone, is that one day, maybe even today, we will continue to pursue a journey HOME.
Wonder Home
Poem by Theo Edmonds (2006)
Where lambs lead into laughter, It is a place just beyond that small hill We can rest there in peace, and peace is resting there Peace of the kind that leaves solid - fit - our shaking nervous human will. Starving are the skylights that beam bright blue, red and hot Carving through the sky face are cascading clouds, a homecoming of unfulfilled dreams we once knew. In morning, my eyes see a daybreak But it was in those knocks in the night, where I found a friend. To begin – I hold up a curious passion. To lead – I rely upon my epic reach for creative learning. To invite – I show and flirt with a whimsical touch. To understand - I open myself and pray. I pray leaning on the light one sees The light that is there Before you can actually feel warmth from the sun It’s a blessed peaceful morning, It’s finding the magic in morning dew. It’s red rounding starlight and dreams painted blue. ROAR goes my soul. From nowhere and everywhere - clawing and chewing My hungered heart begins to prowl. I am one of us waking wounded. From the battlegrounds fits and fights We lean to each other, in our leaning-to ways. We talk of marvelous battles and scenes (Some even tell secrets, that our years haven’t yet seen.) In their telling, we sound reminiscent - painfully and proudly, There was grace given in weakness – and - it led us Led us out from that staggering season of mean. Waking am I - wounded – but waking Waking to the morning’s tough tallness Waking to the telling tick-tocking of the clock - tick tock - tick tock – Ticking and tocking goes all the pendulous rocking I find myself waking into light. Having come through many battles and battlegrounds, At times, I admit, I was nothing more than my rage-soaked hollering At times though, I was my own hero. A hero who stood their ground Stood their ground - when forced to the fight. This morning, I surprise myself as I move toward curiosity Comfortable in the creative tension found In life’s confusing hard riddles. Today, I am learning to be still Today, I rest in the traveling wonder of sun. Dark nights and passages gave way to morning. And to my surprise, a hopeful light took hold, leading me to know the fullness of quiet. It’s that mysterious morning light. A mystery because you can see the light Even before you can feel warmth from the sun. There are prisms. Fractals. Light takes your hand, Inside the light, You faintly hear music Emerge where it is most needed, You hear the voices of friends, As they sing with the band. When a journey sets upon you Signaling toward home It’s the tremendous work of wonder calling. It's work that must be done. This is the horizon that I move toward Now that morning light has come.
Theo Edmonds, Culture Futurist® & Founder, Creativity America | Bridging Creative Industries and Brain Science with Future of Work & Wondervation®
© 2024 Theo Edmonds | All Rights Reserved. This article contains proprietary intellectual property. Any reproduction, distribution, or adaptation, in whole or in part, is prohibited without explicit written permission from the author. Please attribute content accurately when referenced or shared. The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of any affiliated organization or institution.