When I was eight years old, I began a nightly ritual that would continue for many years. Just before I went to sleep, I would lie in bed, light a beeswax candle on my nightstand and pray for world peace. As I snuffed the flame, I’d picture the earth and blow it a kiss, imagining a golden trail of fairy dust flying from my lips that would in seconds exponentially multiply and sprinkle across the entire globe.
Granted– I had my first bong hit in second grade, but I assure you I wasn’t stoned during these times. I got that shit out of my system by 12…but I digress… It’s more likely my Waldorf education, which encouraged belief in gnomes and guardian angels, contributed in part to a vivid imagination.
Over the years, my Pollyanna-like faith in humanity began to erode as reality set into my psyche. The older I got, the more I began to accept that corruption and “evil” were just part of life – unfortunate but inevitable components of the whole picture.
As it became more obvious that we can’t all just ‘get along’, my childhood dream seemed idyllic and naïve. I began to listen more to so-called experts, watch the news, and read the stats…and eventually my dream of a peaceful world was kicked out of my consciousness entirely by the Other Shoe dropping more hard facts and increasing my paranoia…
Recent wars, natural disasters and nuclear meltdowns, have left me feeling more jaded and vulnerable, with my Dream, more than ever, out of reach.
A few weeks ago, as I was preparing to attend a wedding in Washington DC, a friend of mine who happens to write a fantastic blog, reminded me of the historical significance of the Mall and the Dream of Dr. Martin Luther King.
So a few hours before the wedding, I decided to walk The Walk myself. Within minutes of arriving I was flooded with revelations (and tears) as I recalled the noble visionary who enrolled the masses in his great and seemingly impossible Dream.
What if Dr. King regarded his aspiration as merely a pipe dream? What if Abraham Lincoln had accepted slavery as “the way it is”? What if the suffragists succumbed silently to the suppressive patriarchy of their day?
It is the revolutionary who challenges the status quo and the visionary who holds the possibility for CHANGE. Ignorance, like a virus, will spread without these heroes who dare us to dream.
As I stood at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, I realized that I have to keep hope alive. My “mature” mind, filled with data and details, had convinced me that things won’t change and that I can’t make a difference. But that afternoon my heart inspired me to be re-inspired, and urged me to Dream again…
In that moment my perspective changed to embrace again the hope of a child who saw the entire world within her reach, believing and trusting that her small kiss of fairy dust would have a great impact.
Perhaps things aren’t as big and impossible as they appear to be…
Of course Change is not easy. My personal attempts to bring about inner peace have allowed me to witness first hand the brutal wars within. Ironically, becoming more peaceful has required me to also become at peace with the parts of me that are not so peaceful… And as I’ve ceased beating myself up like I once did, I have increasing hope for the collective whole.
Why can’t change, that may appear impossible, transpire in my lifetime? I BELIEVE that the outdated ways of warring will one day be replaced by more diplomacy, decency and a cooperative effort towards waging peace. I BELIEVE that as our world becomes more connected, humanity will learn to accept and appreciate diversity. I BELIEVE that one day ALL Americans will have an equal opportunity to love and marry whom they choose.
A cynical mind, defended and full of despair, erects walls around the heart…
Today I choose an open heart, and bring new hope to a dream I won’t let die.
“Whatever you do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it.” -Goethe
Another great post! Thank you for this!
Perhaps our resistance to the nature of the Universe – that things are constantly changing – is precisely why we remain so fixed and resistant and warring. And thus, we don't allow change.
Change starts within, as you say. As individuals dream big and implement personal change, perhaps world change can come about.
Barva!
Yes, so true that the nature of the universe is constantly changing…and the more I embrace that, the less I suffer. And indeed real change starts within as you say. So true!
Oh, Adele, you always seem to capture those spiritually thin moments and bring them home. Every trip to DC for me is marked by that walk down the Mall toward the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. I stand there and let the essence of those who walked before me wash over me. I, too, have a dream…that one day, in my lifetime, I will wake up in a country where I will not be judged by the sex of the person I love, but by the content of my character. And I hope, because what is the alternative? Defeat? Despair?
Thank you for the gentle reminder that it's never out of style to dream the dreams of our innocence. Hope is more than a bumper sticker. As we attempt to heal from the collateral damage of our personal wars, we have to remember that fear and despair can lead to permanent scarring.
Peace, Pollyanna.
I crave the open heart and purity of a child's mind – untainted by the scars of life and the slaps of the naysayers.
But as my love reminds me – you can be keep a skeptic's mind with a pocket of hope…
"..you may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one.."
lead the change, Adele…
Thank you for motivating me to Walk, and inspiring me again with your eloquent and potent Talk. Keep your hope alive…I dream along side you!
Randi, I just saw your comment after responding to Schmootz… You're not alone in the scarred ranks of dreamers! "We will overcome some day…" ♥
When i was a little girl i had nightmares of a green jungle filled with men w guns and explosions and blood….we didn't have a tv. i felt the death and the pain and the confusion and i would cry myself awake to my mother who was there to comfort me. i'd ask, " momie, why does there have to be so much pain? Why do they have to kill each other?"
in retrospect, i understand that i was somehow resonating with my blood father(who didn't raise me)'s dreams of the vietnam war. he served 2 terms. i had his nightmares!?
My mother told me this:
'joni, you are a bright light and that is what you are here to share. Your tears will not help. But your light will…'
i believe we share this commonality deli.
Baba Muktananda said: "if you worship God within, the results of that worship will appear right inside you in the form of contentment and fulfillment. There is a source of great contentment hidden within you it is supremely blissful, and it's name is love."
Love little Deli and her dream. What a remarkable little girl.
What a beautiful quote Joni, and indeed your momma was so right! Amazing how 'bonded' we are to our parents…so often taking on their dreams (and fears), wow.
Love you too Lynn.
I had a dream and NOW I'm living it. You are such a talent, and an inspiration. Keep it coming.
Great blog. Keep them coming.
as always, your blogs are beautiful and very thought-provoking for me. thanks again adele.
Thank you all 🙂 Your kind words mean so much to me. Stayed tuned for more!
Amen, sista.
I can't imagine NOT dreaming. The more ridiculous and preposturous, the more fun life has a tendancy of being. I have walked down The Mall and I have stood at the foot of Abe Lincoln in his monument and been truly humbled by not just how big his statue is, but moreso, how big his presence is. It is he and the other "Game changers" that keep motivating me to dream. If they can do it, who the hell are we to pretend we can't.
Beautifuly written. I am on board with the Venus Project Vision. We must shift from monitary to resourse.
Keep writing