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Tag: dreams

Legacy Left Behind

Mon, January 16, 2017 Published by

There are many reasons we should honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy.  Not only was he a transformational spokesperson for nonviolent activism during the Civil Rights Movement, he was an inspirational leader whose legacy continues to help pave the way to inclusion which we hold near and dear to us here at Beatitudes Campus.  He was a visionary who was persistent, who knew when to push forward and when to pull back, and was someone who knew how to show compassion to those very people who were fighting against him. Below are a few excerpts from Jeff Goins’ blog entitled 5 Lessons from MLK on Living, Leading, & Communicating at http://goinswriter.com. Jeff blogs what many of us think and feel:

“Martin Luther King, Jr. left us a legacy, teaching us as much through what he did as what he said. Maybe more. One of the many lessons Dr. King exemplified was the effectiveness of a life lived out loud, one in which a person’s words and dreams are backed by considerable action.  He showed us our lives must be lived intentionally and without regret, that words mean something and we must speak up in the face of injustice. He taught us that it is one thing to say you have an idea and quite another to act on it. And the man’s courage still inspires millions of people today.

I’m glad Dr. King spoke up and then acted. The world is a better place because of it.

Telling the truth is dangerous

“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”

There is nothing safe about being honest, nothing comfortable about doing the right thing. If anything, when you are committed to saying what needs to be said, it will likely get you into trouble.  But the fruit is worth the pain.  You’re the one who has to decide this, though. Choose wisely before opening your mouth, and be aware of the consequences. Because as with MLK, this may cost you your life.  But of course, if you don’t speak, it could cost you something far greater.

The first person you need to convince is yourself

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”

MLK often spoke about the importance of believing in yourself before trying to convince others to do so. He knew that if we doubt ourselves, so will others. He also knew human beings cannot act according to their identity until they believe it about themselves.  In the field of creative disciplines, we see this to be especially true. “A writer is a writer when he says he is,” says Steven Pressfield.  There’s something about the power of declaration via our voices that forces our hands to act. This may be the most important lesson Dr. King taught us: we are what we are when we decide to be it.

May we honor MLK’s memory by boldly being and believing who we are, then acting on it.”

 

The Courage of Hope

Mon, July 11, 2016 Published by

Browsing through a British newspaper the other day, I came across an article online entitled “My Future Self.” Over a dozen young girls were asked what they wanted to do when they grow up. Each had then designed her own photo-shoot, posing in the role that she hoped to one day have. “Ever since we studied the solar system in primary school,” said Haja, “I would imagine myself up in the sky, discovering new things, and so I want to be an astronaut.”

I remember asking one of my nieces that same question “What do you want to do when you are older?” She thought about it for a moment, and couldn’t come up with an answer, but then at 9 she seemingly has all the time in the world to discern her future. She will do so living in a country at peace, with food, clothing and shelter, education and security.

In contrast Haja and her friends have, in the understatement of the article, “directly experienced conflict.” The girls questioned in the article were Syrians living as refugees in the North of Jordan. “Many people told me a girl can’t become an astronaut,” Haja continues, going on to say that she hopes, in the future, she will be able to “tell girls with dreams to not be afraid, to be confident and know where you want to go.”

Architect, surgeon, lawyer, photographer; the list of ambitions springing forth from these young people in such difficult circumstances is inspiring, but what is so very poignant about each of these girls is the vibrancy of their hope. We can barely imagine what trauma these girls have endured and what miseries they still face, and yet their dreams soar.

Hope might sometimes be misunderstood as irrational, or even lazy—merely buying a Lottery ticket and crossing your fingers! Hope might also be maligned and neglected- ‘Be realistic!’ says the sceptic—”Don’t get your hopes up. Manage your expectations.”

Remarking on recent world events, John Kerry said; “it’s all enough to make some people want to climb back into bed, pull the sheets over their head and wish that everything would disappear. But that’s not how you solve anything, folks, except maybe a hangover.” We have all felt the temptation to pull the sheets back over our heads, and for many people, hope in a brighter future seems to be founded on something pretty unlikely.

And how likely is it, on the face of it, that Haja will become an astronaut, and her friends become architects and lawyers and movie stars?

But there are two things we can say for sure about Haja’s aspiration. Firstly, it’s not impossible is it? Who dares say she cannot reach the sky? Secondly, her dream is far more likely to be realized if she puts her trust in the hope that a better day will dawn—just like the rest of us. ★

Ever Considered What it Takes to Create Something New?

Fri, March 18, 2016 Published by

In 221 B.C., a Chinese emperor of Qin decided to link all the small separate walls across China to help protect them from raiders in the north.  Over 450 years later and over 13,170 miles covering 9 provinces and municipalities, the Great Wall of China was completed.  There were approximately 400,000 workers who died in the midst of constructing that wall.  Although many of the workers were forced to assist, you will agree that it took many committed people along the way to complete this work.  Still today, there are as many as 70,000 people visiting the wall each day.

When a leader has a dream for an organization (or a country), it takes many hands, hearts and minds to complete the work.  During the work, it can get frustrating or even boring without the right encouragement.  It must have been grueling and exhausting when the workers of the Great Wall lived and died without seeing the final result of their labor.  Sometimes I feel that way – I’m sure you do too.   I think commitment to the vision is another part of the creation process.

And what difference does it make anyway?  Was this my idea or someone else’s?  Why am I doing this when I could be doing something I want to do?  We make choices every day about what we will do and how we will make an impact on the world.  Many of our campus co-workers are here because of our combined work to help older adults reach their own potentials.

For every day that we decide to work at the campus, we also are being changed.  We are becoming more like the people we admire in our lives.  The potential for personal change is incredible!

It reminds me of a great quote by John H. Schaar, “The future is not some place we are going, but one we are creating.   The paths are not to be found, but made.  And the activity of making them changes both the maker and the destination.”

Creating something new will create someone new.