What's Your Dream....

Today is a day where many love to share Martin Luther King Jr. quotes.  They love to talk about what he died for. They love to talk about choosing love over hate and loving their fellow mankind and the unity that has come to be from MLK's famous speech, which has been coined, 'I have a dream.' 

If I seem jaded, please understand that I recognize there are many folks, of all colors, who truly understand that MLK was a revolutionary forward thinker, who challenged the status quo and who was MURDERED because of it. That he didn't live to be a wise old man but was killed when he was only 39 years old. But I honestly believe there are so many more who want the wall built, but also will share an MLK quote today.

While the 'I Have a Dream' speech is not the MLK speech that resonates the most with me....it has always caused me great stirring when I hear him say with reverence, 'I have a dream today......'  Those words alone are spoken with such conviction and determination that they make me have hope that they one day will come to be....even if around me the tattered and fractured reality of racial tension and economic divide still permeates our country, leaving me to feel that not only will we never be great again, but we actually have never been quite as great as we like to reminisce we were.

What would it be like to have that kind of purpose?  That kind of belief in not only your vision and yourself...but in the rallying of the folks around you. That kind of prophetic influence that caused a stirring in the souls of others, such that they began to cling to the hope that it just might be.

I guess we first would need to have a dream to begin with.  A dream that is outside of ourselves. I'm not judging dreams of a special vacation or a certain kind of job, of financial security or a fancy car.  I understand that our society feeds into that kind of dream being a primary focus. And I understand that many people want to enjoy the fruits of their labor. But I'm speaking more of a dream that truly moved beyond ourselves and would cause a ripple affect for the greater good? A dream that not only led to increase for you....but an elevation for those around you. And this dream didn't just exist because it was the trendy bandwagon to jump on...but instead was birthed out of  a desire to see your fellow humans flourish.

I challenge you today....that instead of romanticizing harmony and unity....that you truly allow yourself to see the brokenness that is around you. The forgotten fringe of our society that is all around us and recognize their humanity. Instead of finding the perfect quote that fits what you wish was...that you grieve for the dream of MLK that has not come to fruition.

And allow that grief to propel you into envisioning your own dream. That you might see and know the people around you. That you might seek to understand someone's struggle that is not your own. And that you might embrace ways that you can meet them in their struggle, even if it causes you discomfort.

I have a dream....that today will be the day that you truly see someone for the treasured gift they are....and how you can be a bright spot of light and love in their world....and thus see the spot of light and love they can be in yours.

That's what I got today.