Walt

"All of our dreams can come true, if we only have the courage to pursue them."

- Walt Disney

Alright, Walt.

I'm a big boy and I understand the whole "tell your kid they can do anything they want" but that quote, is that really true?

Well, this is baffling, because I had this conversation with someone yesterday. I think that this sheds more light on this idea(l) than most do. Most people simply say, "you can do it" or "you can be anything you want to be." Those most definitely are false. For example, say I wanted to play center in the NBA -- thats not possible given that I don't have the body to achieve said dream. However, somewhere there are dreams; and I mean dreams that are the deepest desires inside me. Things that I can do. Those are my real dreams. Now, does this mean all dreams are watered down and near sighted? Not necessarily, I suspect most dreams are rather lofty. I think the point is that it takes courage. It takes courage to try the thing that I want to do, because what happens if I just can't cut it. How will I respond? How is it that I can work up the gumption to pursue those dreams?

There is an article about the reverse trend of race in sports on ESPN this morning. It is all about JJ Redick and Adam Morrison. These guys are both white and they are the two best players in college basketball. How is it that these guys grew up in an era of "White men can't jump" and other medium that pushed whites away by telling them that they couldn't cut it; and still followed their dream so fervently? I believe the answer is courage.

I believe it took a great deal of courage to look that sterotype in the face and follow unfazed. I believe it took a great deal of courage for Martin Luther King Jr. to so much as state his dream, much less pursue it. I believe it took a great deal of courage for Martin Luther to publish his dream. I believe it takes a great deal of courage to become the men and women that we so desire to be: men and women who actually have an impact - and somehow I believe that having an impact in the world simply means being enlightened beings with a curiosity and awareness that comes with life. Living takes courage. It is much easier to shut down and settle for what comes easy, but what comes easy, doesn't ever satisfy. The things that satisfy take time, effort, and (yes) courage; and they are the realization of those dreams that we have pushed away for far too long.