I Have A Dream

Today as we celebrate the life of one of the world's most famous dreamers, it seems more important than ever to have a dream, a vision, a belief in what's possible.  No sooner is someone dreaming it, than another is achieving it.  Forget the moon.  We're landing on Mars. 

One of best things the Internet has done besides make shoe shopping without leaving home a reality, is bring the world's best teachers to right to our door.  If you haven't had the chance to listen to the amazing assortment of  TED talks, by all means, do so at your earliest convenience.

Experts and innovators on just about every subject are a click away.  They share their dreams and body of work with us in twenty minutes or less free of charge.  These people blow me away every day. 

Last night I listened to a talk by Ryan Holladay.  He and his brother are creating site-specific sound installations, interactive concerts, and GPS-based compositions so people can experience Central Park or the Washington Mall or the California coast from an audio perspective.  What was a Twilight Zone episode yesterday is a reality today.

I also listened to Amanda Palmer talk about the art of asking.  She explained how she used crowdsourcing to raise over $1 million from her fans to free her from a record label that considered sales of 25,000 units to be a failure. (And I think 15 followers is phenomenal!) Of course this performer is fearless and willing to be vulnerable in a way that I can only imagine.  She used to earn her money from being the eight foot bride, a human statue. 

And this is just the tip of the iceberg.  Every single one of us has a dream about who or what we wanted to be when we grew up.  Some of us became exactly that.  Some of us became more.  Some of us less.  For no other reason than I am an eternal optimist, I like to think the best is yet to come.  If we're still here, there's still hope.

I also like to think we are not given a dream without also being given a chance to make that dream come true.  That doesn't mean we won't blow it or believe ourselves to be unequal to the challenge of making it come true.  It doesn't mean it won't be demanding or difficult or downright impossible to do without a tremendous amount of assistance.

A quote I keep inside of one of my journals is, "The question is not whether you are good enough but what if you are exceptional and fail to realize it in your lifetime?"

Maybe the best way to honor the man who made us all dream is to weave our unique color and shape into the rich and diverse tapestry of dreamers everywhere.

I leave you with this video from HAPA, which is a beautiful tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr. and one of my favorite versions of U2's song, Pride (In the Name of Love).

Dream on.