I Too, Have A Dream

On the morning after the day celebrating the life of Martin Luther King Jr., I just wanted to let it be known that I too have a dream.

There are things in our lives that we hold sacred.  Different things for different people.  Some view the building that is their church as sacred.  Others see the church that gathers in that building as sacred.  For some a bible or a rosary is sacred.  For some the flag of their country.  For others, their car or their house is treated as sacred.  Whatever it is that someone sees as sacred, they treat it with reverence, care, love, and respect.  

When something is held sacred, their is often great offense taken when others do not treat the sacred as such.  If someone were to come to a church service cursing and swearing there would be offense taken.  If someone were to mistreat the family bible, there would be offense.  We have seen the offense taken when someone disrespects the flag.  For some of us, finding out someone had ran their key along the side of our car would bring on great anger.

So, anyway, back to my dream.

I have a dream that as time goes by, more and more people will start recognizing the sacred gifts we have been given, and start treating these gifts as sacred.

I have a dream that we will treat our bodies as the sacred gifts they are.  We will fill them with good, nutritious food and avoiding junk food.   We will avoid tobacco and other drugs that are detrimental to our bodies.  We will exercise and give our bodies the strength, flexibility, and endurance it needs.  We will drink more water and fewer soft drinks.  We will endeavour to get enough sleep each night.

I have a dream that one day, we will recognize the sacred gift that is our mind.  We will educate ourselves to the best of our ability.  We will not fill our minds with hate, envy, malice, and greed.  We will instead fill our minds with thoughts of love, generosity, helpfulness, and charity.  We will use our minds to improve the world around us.

I have a dream that we will see the earth we live on as a sacred gift to be cherished.  We will stop overbuying, overusing, and overpolluting.  We will recycle.  We will not dump motor oil and other fluids from our cars on the ground.  We will conserve electricity, oil, and other fossil fuels.  We will strive to use energy from renewable resources.

I have a dream that we will see each person around us as the sacred gift that they are.  Whether they be old or young, whether they be Ivy league educated, or barely literate, whether they be too skinny or too fat, we will see them as the sacred gift that they are.  When we look at the wonder that is each living thing, we will treat them with the dignity and respect that all people deserve.  We will see that it matters less what group they fit in with, or what group we fit in with than the fact that we all share this life as one.  We will stop putting importance on whether someone is clergy or criminal, jock or nerd, upper management or packer or picker.  When we learn to see those around us as sacred the color of their skin will be less important than the color of their shirt. 

Like King, I might not live to see my dream, but I am sure going to take as many steps in that direction as I can.