The Dreamer’s Dream

“Few will have the greatness to bend history, but each of us can work to change a small portion of the events, and then the total- all of these acts- will be written in the history of this generation. It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a [wo]man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, [s]he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.” - Robert F. KennedyOne of my most memorable moments while studying abroad in South Africa was standing atop of Elsie’s Peak in Fish Hoek, a city just south of central Cape Town. Two of my roommates and I had taken the train down to its end in Simon’s Town where we hiked around, explored some more, stayed in a hostel, and then traveled back north to our home. On our way back, we stopped in Fish Hoek, which after having had read about, we wanted to wander about. We looked up some suggested hikes, found Elsie’s Peak, grabbed our backpacks holding all our essentials for the weekend, and ventured up the peak without a map in hand or any idea of where this trail would lead us. To our surprise, it lead us amid the most beautiful scenery- my roommate Matt even found a rock that resembled Pride Rock from the Lion King, upon which he cradled his backpack in the same way that Mufasa cradled baby Simba. We continued through untouched greenery, majestic rocks, exotic flowers, and eventually found ourselves atop of the mountain. We continued to what we could see was the mountain’s edge to behold a perfect panorama of the Western Cape and the sprawling bay, spilling out into the vast ocean that seemed to go on for an infinity’s end. We were amazed and struck with wonder as we beheld the most beautiful and peaceful picture of nature that we had seen before. My heart was full as I was captivated in a moment’s time with the beauty of the world before me. To this day, that moment stands in time as the single moment that took my breath away and allowed my dreams to roam free. That is when my mind and soul felt the most free they had ever been to dream, to wander, and travel beyond my vision of the ocean’s end. Throughout this series in which we prepare our hearts and minds to grasp the vast opportunity that this new year awaits to give us, we have explored what it means to reflect on what these past years have taught us and to rest in what the present moments have to offer us. This week, we are venturing in what it means to dream again, to envision what we can offer this world, and to rediscover our purpose, influence, and inspiration. By reflecting on how we have grown and what we have learned through past experiences, struggles, lessons, triumphs, and rewards, we will be enlightened to discover our passions and rediscover the deepest desires and dreams of our hearts. Similarly, by resting in what these present moments have to offer us, and what they are preparing for us, we will be empowered to use our strength, talents, passions, and beliefs to pursue our dreams beyond what we could imagine of their fullest potential. When we realize the inherent value of our worth and the undeniable power in who we have come to be, we will believe that we are not only able to pursue our dreams, but to see those dreams become reality. In that moment that we enable ourselves to rediscover our dreams, we will be able to envision things for not only our own futures, but for the future of the world- dreams untouched by any precedent before us, and dreams so unique to our own character that we become the distinct driving force behind them. Once we believe in this power of ours, we will begin to take the steps to assure that we are constantly re-envisioning and rediscovering dreams for ourselves and for the vast world beyond us. For me, that experience on that mountaintop stands as the pillar of my imagination and of the basin that holds my wildest dreams and my purest hopes for the world. But, I am not limited to flying halfway across the world just to experience that mountaintop revelation. Rather, I am able to access that same emotion, that same moment that took my breath away, and that same powerful essence that freed my heart and mind to travel to the ocean’s end at any moment of any day. I can access that revelation that freed my dreams beyond the confines of my own doubt because I had experienced it before. The same goes for any of us. The truth is, each of us have had empowering and captivating moments, and because we have once experienced them before, we can draw up those invigorating experiences, that breath of life, that unparalleled inspiration in order to activate ordinary moments of inspiration. There are moments awaiting us each day with which we can become inspired and empowered to live out our dreams and our purpose. We must only be aware and open to looking for them in rather unexpected places. We must be intentional in alloting ourselves time to daily rediscover our dreams and remember our purpose and influence. For some of us, that may be surrounding ourselves with friends that share our ideals, our dreams, and empower us to affect change throughout the world. For others of us, that may be finding time in solitude, amid the world’s rawest and most beautiful natural wonders. Still, for some of us, that may be embarking on adventures, placing ourselves in unfamiliar territories, in unchartered waters, and resting upon the faith of our strength. Every day, we have moments to re-envision our purpose and influence and to rediscover our dreams. We must only allow those moments to be revealed, actively seek out those moments, and remind ourselves of prior experiences in which we have stood in awe to the freeing of our own imagination. In this next year, it is my hope that these moments are not just found in single life-changing experiences, but in the ordinary, almost mundane instances of our every-day lives. I hope that this rediscovery, this breath of invigorating life, becomes our normal, our habit. As we stand at the threshold of this new year, I hope we learn to rediscover our dreams throughout our weekly dispositions, our morning routines, our workday grind, and our nighttime slumbers, when we free our imaginations to dream all over again.

I Have A Few Dreams

I say to you today, my friends, though, even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up, live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

...I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low. The rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together. This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

Yesterday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a day honoring the great man whose resilience for equality forever impacted this nation. Most of us enjoyed the day off, where we got to catch up on errands, cherish time with our kids or loved ones, and extend a weekend’s rest, even if just for a day. But this day symbolizes more than just a break from the business of life’s demands; it reminds us of a man who dedicated his whole life and gave of his whole spirit to fight for something he believed in, for something he thought was an absolute right, for something that would be esteemed and continuously defended for generations to come. Martin Luther King’s I Have A Dream speech, delivered on August 28, 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., is one of the most viscerally raw, truthful, and poignant speeches of our time. Here, he outlines his dream for America; a dream that was situated between pillars of oppression and adversity. But against all opposition, Martin Luther King embodied resilience in achieving his dream of equality and freedom and of establishing a home that rests on these principles for future generations. In fact, his resilience, bravery, and courage are what we celebrate and revere on the third or fourth Monday of every January for years to come. More than just esteeming Martin Luther King’s spirit of resilience driven by the pursuit of truth, justice, and freedom, we can seek inspiration from the pursuit of his dreams in the pursuit of our own. You see, the spirit of Martin Luther King is accessible to us all. What made this man so inspiring to many and so influential even beyond the years of his life is not a product of one man in one time in history. The qualities, trials, triumphs, beliefs, ideals, and dreams that made this man a pillar of hope and achievement are all qualities that each of us possess in unique and distinct ways. Martin Luther King tailored his own experiences, times of despair, points of weakness, defining moments of strength, and instances where his courage stood against adversity into the relentless pursuit of his dream of justice, freedom, and equality for all. In a similar manner, we too can use our defining moments, beliefs, strengths and convictions in the pursuit of our own dreams. Martin Luther King inspires more than just the legacy he left behind, but he embodies the courage and conviction we must all draw upon in standing behind our dreams and the resilience we must all muster up in pursuing our dreams against adversary, obstacles, oppression, and discouragement. Learning from this great man and his greater fight to achieve so much more for our nation than what any single person had done before him, we may be inspired to muster up every ounce of our spirit in order to achieve what we have set before ourselves. As we reflect on how Martin Luther King discovered and achieved his dream, we may be able to tap into our own resilience, to build up our own strength, and to stand behind our own beliefs in the pursuit of our own dreams. As we stand at the threshold of this new year and of all the possibilities, adventures, and dreams that it begins to unfold for us, we may ask ourselves how we will begin to rediscover our dreams; we may begin to seek out why we have placed these dreams before ourselves. Once we have defined the importance of these dreams and the purpose that our dreams have in the world, we will then begin to recognize our own distinct potential in driving our dreams and our uniqueness in seeing those dreams become reality. Martin Luther King undeniably was one of the most influential and impactful men of our time, but what defined his influence and what shaped his greatness are the same spirits of conviction, defining points of strength, and triumphant moments of victory that have shaped each of us into the people we are today. It is time that we rediscover our dreams, ambitions, and passions and use the pursuit of our dreams in order to change the world in a way that no one else could. It is time to realize our potential and to activate our courage, conviction, strength, and resilience in order to leave our legacy and, perhaps with our success, to encourage future generations to believe in their dreams and to use their distinctness and uniqueness to impact the world.