Reflecting on The Servants at the Gate of Dawn: Insights for 2025

The therapist Terry Real, in a recent podcast episode on Modern Love said:

"The American dream is the dream that our children will have it better than we did." Simple, right? Here’s where it is getting personal for me. Two years ago, I wrote my thesis, a project I cheekily titled after Pink Floyd’s debut album “The Piper at the Gate of Dawn” released on August 4, 1967… a day and month that will be stuck with me for the rest of my life. Why that album? Let me take you back: Imagine 16-year-old me in Beirut, headphones on, connected to an iPod 3, lost in the psychedelic swirls of Syd Barrett’s guitar. That same giddy joy hit me decades later when, on a cold winter NY dawn, I cracked open my first luster-glaze kiln. My heart was racing, I slammed it shut, walked away, cried, then peeked again, and grinned like a kid who’d accidentally turned lead into gold. Though this was no accident, in fact, far from it, I have indeed turned the surface of my ceramics into gold.

The Beggar's Bowl

In my thesis, "At the Gate of Dawn", I became five archetypes: the wanderer, the intruder, the beggar, the guard, and the technician (my practical side). Together, they turned an isolating MFA experience alongside a deeper understanding of clay and fire that is rooted in tradition, into a bigger conversation:

What do we owe the next generation?

In the thesis the wanderer and intruder swapping stories, fall in love over a campfire. The beggar and guard joined them later, each bringing their flavor, science, tradition, and empathy, a fellowship of 2, then 4 found each other in one place. They each saw the Gate of Dawn, and explained it from their unique perspectives. Then they decided that they are done going at it alone, they wanted to make something out of it, together. Because of this awareness, their mission transformed into wanting to pass the torch, not hoard the light.

It's been 2 years since they met, since I met them in a windowless computer room at university. Till this day, these archetypes teach me that prosperity isn’t just about a track record of exhibitions and full bank accounts. Success and prosperity are defined relationally, they are about who gets a seat at the campfire. Who is creating comfort for others, holding space, Who’s doing the work to hear and be heard? The real American Dream, I think, is building bigger fires, spaces where we show up fully, laugh loudly, and say, “Hey, I see you. I welcome you, thank you for welcoming me, let’s figure this out.” There is a great, beautiful potential in starting by acknowledging the parts to negotiate a whole.

My crew would still nod and add: Safety comes first, hearts that are feeling safe eventually crack open. The fellowship around the campfire says: “You can’t become yourself by yourself.” Growth happens in the mess of connection, chatting with neighbors, hiking trails, lounging at pool parties, even arguing about politics, without letting it break our container.

So here we are, all of us at our own Gates of Dawn. The future’s uncertain, but my motley crew of archetypes has a - nowadays considered - radical idea: What if we’re all just servants to something bigger? This question by tself challenges the American individualism and places people in the ecosystem they arrogantly ignored or claimed to dominate. What if we all worked towards better education, a cleaner planet, kinder conversations, figuring out what is actually enough. Our future is dreamt here, and now, not with spreadsheets echoing a culturally disembodied scarcity mentality, but through showing up, centered, resourceful and re-building trust.

After all, as my archetypes say: "And for any meaningful chance, personal or collective, change requires perseverance, creativity, and acts of love." Below is the Chapter tittled "Servants at the Gate of Dawn" (Unedited). A chapter in my story made possible through two courses - "Anti-Opressive Pedagogies" and "Leadership in Education and Human Services - that i took at SUNY New Paltz with Professor Shannon McManimon.

Servants at the Gate of Dawn - by Ibrahim Khazzaka

Servants at the Gate of Dawn.pdf

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