These words spoken by Martin Luther King, Jr. spell out the point of no return. Oddly enough in our times it is both. We go forward through chaos and continue to grow our community of love.
Every great dream begins with a dreamer.  Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world. –Harriet Tubman
Dreams are a Wish Your Heart Makes Yes, these words are found in the Disney classic Cinderella, the quintessential underappreciated un-recognized person, who remembers with the help of her Fairy Godmother that dreams do come true and to never stop dreaming regardless of circumstance, and, yes it feels like a statement of deep truth… “Dreams are a wish our hearts make.”
Take this moment to celebrate a dream for a new day.
On p. 555 of James Melvin Washington’s massive towering The Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr. references Where do we go from here: Chaos or Community? In which Mr. Washington describes Dr. King’s work on this particular book as the toughest project he ever pursued as he had to
reconcile the despair over the gap between legislation being enacted granting rights and the prejudice being perpetrated around the country negating the spirit of universal equal rights.
I have been fortunate in my life to have achieved my childhood dreams and to have helped so many others achieve theirs.  The one quality that made the difference was having a vision and never giving up no matter what.  Holding the dream as the reality and acting as if, onward through what appeared to be darkness and disappointment.  I am grateful for all the ways these dreams were fulfilled and the ways in which they have given me a strength of character and an integrity of understanding in what it takes to realize a dream personally and collectively. I know how important dreams are to making significant shifts in society. Dreams strengthen character and build a foundation of honesty and open up the imagination of possibility to deliver magnificent experiences and occurrences beyond anything expected.
It is important to have a dream, to set your sights on that which only your heart sees, currently invisible to the registry of the eye.  It is the magic and miracle of allowing that which is in you but not of you to give wings to your souls calling.
“A dream is a wish your heart makes when you’re fast asleep.
In dreams you will lose your heartaches.
Whatever you wish for, you keep.
Have faith in your dreams, and someday,
Your rainbow will come smiling through.
No matter how your heart is grieving,
If you keep on believing,
The dream that you wish will come true.”
“The word “Cinderella” has, by analogy, come to mean one whose attributes are unrecognized, or one who unexpectedly achieves recognition or success after a period of obscurity and neglect.” There have been countless tellings of this story. I experience it more times than I would like to admit. It’s one of those archetypal myths that most of the planet resonates with… Who doesn’t want to transcend their cur-rent circumstances and without changing any of the outward circumstances experience a full recognition of the truth.  We are powerful beyond measure.
Always we ask what will become of us, instead we need to ask what do I need to do in this moment to be loving to myself and those in my life, what dream does my heart want to unfold making the biggest difference to myself, my community and the planet?  At no time in the history of humanity has it been more important to listen to the answer and remember the truth.  Our thoughts create our reality and if we are not thinking with Love we are not living the truth.
Dreams are wishes our hearts make.  Today and everyday.  Have a dream.  Stay open and be willing, do not lose hope in your dreams and have faith in the unseen to carry you through.
We can’t change the circumstances that happen but we can stand in the truth and be loving in each interaction in the world. Looking everyone in the eye and say “Hello” from my heart to theirs. I can be kind each day in each moment and I can remember each person is experiencing at least the level of anxiety uncertainty and misunderstanding that I am.  I can choose to be open to not knowing and be compassionate.
Martin Luther King Jr. often said “there is a power in our hearts more powerful than the power of bullets” … and today in the land of the free and the home of the brave it’s never been more important to re-member.
Love always remains the answer. In remembering this we stand in the power of humanities greatest gift. The gift of Love.
More from Beliefnet and our partners
Close Ad