Monday, January 18, 2010

I Have a Dream

I sometimes forget when the working world has a national holiday....

I also sometimes hold full-length conversations with myself. Today I was remembering the national holiday and talking to myself....

9:00 this morning I remembered it was Martin Luther King Jr's birthday. Quite a man. Do you know he was only 39 when he was assassinated?

I turned 39 on Saturday. I certainly don't feel old. I always thought powerful, thoughtful people had to be older than I am....someone with a couple more years under their belt. I certainly don't feel empowered enough to move mountains, people and ideas the way MLK did. Perhaps I need to get a move on.

So what is your dream? My little voice said this morning over a cup of Starbucks.

Oh, for Samantha to be happy and healthy

Phhhhffffff...she's happy and healthy now. Really, if you could shoot for the moon, what would it be?

So I shot for the moon....We would be able identify the mutated gene, the one causing all of the problems. And doctors would fix that gene; either through stem cells or some other sort of therapy. And Samantha would be fine. She would walk. She would talk. That nasty mutation would be fixed. That, is my dream. I have a dream And I felt so idealistic for even voicing that thought.

And then my little voice said Many of those people on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial who heard Dr. King make that empowering speech in 1963 never thought a black man could be president only 46 years later. They never thought a country could change so much. That dream, like your dream, was beyond their comprehension.

This is why I enjoy my talks with my little voice.

And even though my dream is so very different from what was discussed on those steps in 1963, it is still a dream, a hope, it is about looking forward, change, about expecting more from people-kind. It is about not giving up and believing in what seems impossible and so very far away.

We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.

We cannot turn back.
MLK 1963


Because we all have a dream.

7 comments:

MJ Morgan, Writer said...

Eloquently put, Heather. Yes, dream. And hold onto that dream. From 1963 to here ... and from here to fixing mutating genes. I'm with you.

Unknown said...

Dream on! Hope! Pray! One person can make a difference in this big world . . . and you never know who, or when, it may be!!

Deana said...

I love that dream...it is my dream too. But I also remember another speech of his...

"And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land."

That to me says, we may not get to see our little ones be the ones to get a cure, but they may be the ones that open the door for other babies after them, that they won't have the same diseases and disorders in their lives.

MLK, Jr. didn't make it there with them...so many civil rights marchers didn't make it with them...but the dream still happened. And THAT is hope.

ferfischer said...

Amen to that, sister.

2awesomekidz said...

Love this Heather! We do march forward and someday we will have answers. Happy belated Birthday! We definitely need to have a birhtday lunch soon!
Tami

Maria said...

To hopes and dreams! I just posted that Dr. Van Hove is not giving up on finding out what gene is impacting Jacob. We all know in our case it won't change it for Jacob, but this man simply won't give up! It's about dreams and hopes!

Rena said...

Yes! I love that quote. Dr. King is one of my heroes and this post was very inspiring to me. Thank you.

Trauma should be the hall pass to life's other issues. Someone should tell the hall monitor

I posted something cryptic on Facebook Saturday. It caught a lot of attention from my tribe but it really wasn’t a big deal…. nothing ...