Let's Carry This Forward!

I am basking in the joy of new hope that we all felt on Tuesday, Inauguration Day. Many of us have been feeling this since Nov. 4th when Obama won the election. The feelings have swelled and intensified. It feels like our country has come together like never before. It is amazing that close to 2 million people were gathered together in Washington and there were no arrests. That is a miracle!

My brain tells me this feeling won’t last. I remember back to September 11th and how our country came together. It was a different feeling, certainly not one of joy and hope, yet we came together as one. That feeling faded, however, and life went on as usual. Oh, we were never quite the same after that, but we lost that loving feeling.

As I write this, I am watching a pre-inaugural celebration that I somehow missed. It was called We Are One and was a huge celebration that took place at the Lincoln Memorial, I think the day before the Inauguration. There were lots of musicians performing, and the music was so inspiring I stood up and danced with my cat Callie in my living room. This is a feeling I want to hold on to. This is something I want to carry forward into tomorrow and the day after that, and the week after that, and the month after that.

President Obama has said that he cannot do this alone, he needs us. We are being called to take part in our country and in making sure that this hopefulness manifests into reality. I’m sure our president will give us lots of opportunities to get involved. I just emailed him an idea, and am so delighted that he has provided avenues and opportunities for us to be heard and involved.

This is our country. Regardless of what happens tomorrow, or the next day, or what our President does or does not do….even if he disappoints us…I want to keep this feeling of hopefulness and optimism alive. Let’s carry this forward. We can do it. It’s a choice we can make every day. It’s not up to only our President, it’s up to us!

The Power of a Dream

August 28, 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. gave his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech. He had a powerful vision of a world where all Americans would be treated as equals. He dreamt of a time when all of life’s benefits and freedoms would be available to all people regardless of color. He said, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.

”



I believe strongly in the strength of dreams and in the power of intentions. This idea has been around for centuries and there have been numerous books written on this subject, yet it feels like an idea whose time has finally come to our world in a very big way.

Tomorrow, the very first black American will be sworn in as President of the United States. Barack Obama was only 2 years old when Martin Luther King Jr. shared his dream, and tomorrow as he takes his oath for the highest office in our Nation, he will do so as proof of the realization of that dream. I am thrilled to be alive to witness this momentous time in our history.

I am also excited to share with you that the power of a dream made manifest is available to all of us. There is tremendous power in a dream that is shared. Martin Luther King Jr. wasn’t the only one holding that dream, but he was the one who put words to the vision and spoke them out. Tomorrow Barack Obama will share his dream for our nation, and I’m pretty sure he’s going to call on all of us to help make it come true.

Help shape your world and our world. Get in touch with your dreams and your visions…for your own life, and for our world. Say your dream out loud. Write it down. Share it with others. Speak the word and it shall come to pass.