Keep Your Dreams Alive

As we honor Martin Luther King Jr. this week, we remember him most for those famous words: "I have a dream." After so many years his dream lives on, and we are reminded of it each and every year.

As we grow older and wiser, it seems that we also become less optimistic and more practical; at times even downright negative. We convince ourselves that our dreams are not important or, worse, not achievable. And so we file them away in the back of our mind and visit them with less and less frequency. Some of them we forget altogether.

While cleaning out my garage the other day, I came across a box. It was small, heavy and had my name written on it. At first I didn't recognize it, but when I tore the tape and opened the first flap, I gasped. The box contained my diaries from so many years ago.

Desperately wanting to finish cleaning the garage, I put the box aside and proceeded with my chore. But the box kept calling to me, hindering my efforts to clean up the huge mess. An hour later I gave in, took the box upstairs, closed my door and began reading.

It was like meeting an old friend. Starting from the age of 14, I began to relive each and every day of my youth.  Here in black and white were intimate details of my first kiss, my first love and first heartbreak, my first job, and my first attempt at starting my own business.  

With each turn of the page I grew a bit older. High school assignments turned into college papers, friendships were formed, lessons were learned. As I matured and my expectations grew higher, so did my dreams and goals.  

Each page was fascinating to read. Not because I had such an exciting teenage life, but because it took me back in time and reminded me of how I looked at life in my formative years. It clearly depicted who I was at each stage of my youth, and - more important - refreshed my memory of my childhood dreams.  

Some of the dreams were childish and unrealistic. Others were more optimistic. But they all had one thing in common: they were mine. As I turned the last page, I looked at the clock and was amazed to find that three hours had flown by.  

Taking a moment to reflect on what I had read, I realized that my unrealistic dreams were the ones I mostly accomplished, and my optimistic dreams were tackled and some even achieved. But it was my childish dreams that touched me deeply.  

As I sat on the bed, surrounded by my childhood, something within me was re-born. I realized that these dreams were mine. Some of them still had to be accomplished, and I was determined to do it.

As we move forward through the chaos of our daily lives, let's not forget to stop and remember our dreams because it's never too late for any of us. Let Martin Luther King's birthday remind us that we all have important dreams, and that when we pursue those dreams, we can contribute to making this world a better place.

Finally, lets remember that if we can see it and feel it, we can have it.

All the best,

Yana