In Honor of the Greatest of “Dreams”
Posted by: Devyl GyrlA friend of mine, VryNRSN, wrote a beautiful piece on his blog (you should go read it, just remember to come back here!). At the end, he posed this question:
That is my dream, on this important anniversary, what is yours?
My answer:
My dream is that people as a whole practice the art of compassion and kindness, that monetary value become less significant than the greater good, and that our world becomes a clean and healthy world overall.
I expanded on that thought in his *other* blog, with this:
I think that equality is only a small part of what needs to be accomplished in our world. Yes, I want equality for all … I have always admired the people in our world who *deserve* to be set apart for their greatness, but who “rub elbows” with the “average” people around them anyway.
My dream, therefore, is not limited to equality. My dream is for all people to practice compassion and kindness, for monetary value of products and services to become less significant than the greater good those products and services can provide, and for our world to become clean and healthy overall.
I dream that my grandchildren will live in a happy and carefree existence. I that kindness will be the norm, and ugliness (abuse, robbery, murder, etc) the exception. I dream of a world in which people *want* to live, love, laugh, and learn.
So, having written all that on HIS blog, in his replies, why am I re-posting it here? Because, I have more to say. I think. I hope. If I don’t get too distracted by work (you know, phones, coworkers, customers, and the bosses).
We live in a world where people spend their time focused on ONE cause, ONE piece of the pie, ONE factor in a whole WORLD of wrongdoings and mishaps. I am not, by any means, saying we live in a bad world, occupied by bad people. I refuse to believe that. I believe that all people are basically good, and some are misguided or abused to the point where they no longer distinguish the idea of “wrong” from the idea of “right.”
I believe in the causes people focus on: equality for everyone, environmentalism, save the children, help the poor, rescue the animals… These are ALL great causes. They will ALL help the world become a better place, in the long run.
I have always believed that the REAL change comes from teaching today’s children that they should be making better choice daily. Not once a year, when Christmas rolls around. Not once a month, when you can fit in an hour of volunteer work amidst your guitar lessons, soccer practice, Girl Scouts, and social “commitments.” Not even once a week when you drop a bag of groceries off at the local pantry-for-the-poor.
EVERY SINGLE DAY, EVERY SINGLE PERSON should make a better choice. This can be as simple as NOT throwing your garbage on the ground, NOT throwing your aluminum cans in the trash can, NOT walking past the elderly gentleman wrestling with his cane, his keys, and the three bags of groceries that look like they will break his arm, or NOT driving past the man kicking his dog in the front yard of his home without calling for help. Every single day, you can make a choice to do things better, to encourage your children (or your neighbor’s children) to do something better. You can smile at the stressed out mom with a screaming child instead of frowning at her in disapproval. You can hand the gentleman who dropped a $20 his money back instead of pocketing or spending the money as if it was your own. You can mow the lawn of the elderly couple down the street, offer to pick up your neighbor’s grocery order so she doesn’t have to leave her sick child at home with a sitter, or refuse to take part in a conversation that condones racism. Each of these choices makes one small part of your world better right NOW, without having to focus on a “cause.”
Dream of a better world. Dare to imagine what our world would be like if we focused on the greater good instead of the bottom line. Open your mind to the possibility of a world that gets better daily, instead of taking four steps back for every three steps forward. Expand the realms of all possibilities of good.
My challenge to you: No matter how bad YOUR day might be going, make one choice each and every day of the next week to make OUR world a better place (i.e., not just YOUR world). I would love to hear about your experiences!!
August 28th, 2008 at 10:26 pm
First of all, thank you for the wonderful tribute. As I said in my comments in reply to you, I think you said it better than I did in your response
Going further, as you have done here, completes (or, perhaps continues) the expression of thought that I hadn’t even finished imagining when I posted my blog.
This is a wonderful prescription, and honestly , should probably be a primer for a child rearing class, or a forward in a child raising book.
Kudos to you, and thank you for responding to my question by elevating the entire concept.
Other than that, I thought it was okay
sorenj’s last blog post..I Have a Dream… also…
August 28th, 2008 at 10:27 pm
Bravo, babe - great post and so true. *hugs tightly*
Utopian Muse’s last blog post..TT #3 - Thirteen Traits
August 28th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
Soren, I fall a little bit more in Twitter-love with you each and every time I read your stuff. (And, I have a pretty hefty “real” crush on you too
)
But, thank you. This is something I’m passionate about … now if I only knew how to corral my passion and focus it in any particular direction, I might be able to do something. However, since I am completely aimless, I’ll just fire off random blogs and things whenever inspiration strikes.
Utopian Muse - thank you. I wish I had your talent for writing, because then this piece would be a tearjerker that inspired people to actually get out and DO what I challenged them to do!! I love you, sweet gyrl. xoxo
August 29th, 2008 at 3:00 am
this is a really wonderful post. you said it beautifully!
there was a commercial a while back for something or other, i don’t remember, but it was a group of people standing around looking at a piece of litter. they were all lamenting over the fact that someone littered, and how horrible it was that there was trash on the ground. but no one was DOING any thing about it until a young guy came up and wordlessly picked it up and put it in the trash. i think about this from time to time because lip-service does not do any good if the actions aren’t there to back it up. your post is a great call to action instead of just paying lip-service to a cause.
Andromeda’s last blog post..school is back in.