Just Dreamin'

"I have a dream." 

How many times, in the almost 50 years since Mr. King spoke them, have they been repeated?   Did he have any idea the power those four words carried?

For me, his words are more than just his dream.  They are an invitation, permission if you will, to have our own dreams.  Because, what are we, really, without our dreams?  It is in our nature to aspire, to reach and stretch.  If we don't dream, we stagnate, stuck in a pool of sameness, and stinted in our growth. Dreams give us freedom, they are our wings.

Do you have a dream? Is it something you share and shout out loud?

Like my author-dream?  It used to be something I kept inside, covered and sheltered.  I feared to share it, sure that in the sharing I made myself more vulnerable to not achieving it. I've found, though, that speaking, saying it out loud, does not diminish it's shine and sparkle. It is still there, waiting, watching as I reach out to touch it.

I have other dreams. Ones that live in the recesses of my mind.  Little stars that glimmer in the night, begging for attention.  Do not leave us here, they ask.  You are capable and strong. Bring us out into the light.  Work and toil and make us real.  I picked one up today--just a small spark, but so beautiful and shimmery. I set it in front of me, shoved my doubts aside,  and began the task of trying.

What is your dream? Do you wish to sail the ocean?  Or sell your art?  Are there children you want to teach?  Do you hope for a life filled with travel?  To become a musician?

Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream and much of it has come to fruition.  What if he'd never told his dream?  Suppose he didn't share his hopes for fear of what others might think?  Where would we be without his dream?

Take out your dreams.  Examine them.  Feel their texture. Embrace them and recognize their life. Then, in honor of Mr. King, do something, one thing,  today to make them a reality.