Dreams

ON August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial.  It spoke of a vision of equality amongst races within the United States of America.  He voiced his ideas of equal opportunity between races within the job market, schools, as well as society as a whole.  This was the future he envisioned for his children; for everyone’s children.  Though his dream seemed unlikely - or even impossible to some - he still dared to have a vision and spoke of it aloud with the world as his audience.  I remember watching an old video of this speech in 2001.  Needless to say it struck a nerve.  I saw his bravery and his boldness, I saw how fearless he was and yet how ingenious he was.  I saw myself in his convictions and more importantly I saw more of who I aspired to become.

            Photo taken at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.  It reads:

I Have A Dream

Martin Luther King Jr.

 The March On Washington For Jobs and Freedom

  August 28, 1963

            On January 20, 2009 Barrack Obama was elected the first African-American President of the United States of America.  Still I wonder if Martin Luther King Jr. had any true concept of the power in the words he spoke and the impact that they would have on the world. 

            How can one dream without creativity?  You must look at the world as it is and visualize a new one – one that you have influenced; one where your ideas and opinions matter.  We must all dare to dream as Martin Luther King, Jr.  Do not allow conformity, society, or even your own mind to convince you that your dreams are unrealistic or that pursuing them would be a waste of time.

 

            Within our dreams and aspirations are undeniable truths.  They hold the blueprint and code that will shape our future, and the world’s.  By better understanding your dream you can better understand the journey within life that you must undergo.  All of our dreams have meaning; there have been many books written about the interpretations of metaphors and parables in our subconscious dreams we have during sleep.  You must get to the bottom of your dream. Ask yourself; what is the moral of the story that you have imagined for the future?  What emotions are you to evoke?  What will be the end result of your dream?  Look beyond the material gain that you wish to acquire and look at the immaterial gains that will be the result; love, happiness, a feeling of purpose and accomplishment, a better understanding and appreciation for yourself and the world around you.  See beyond the simple goals and have what is known as a vision. 

The young officer chases goals and aspires to become a master of tactics.  The senior officer invests in his vision and is the strategic force that molds the battlefield.

By understanding your dream you become one step closer to achieving it.

            First you must blindly trust the voice that is within you.  The inner voice is all-knowing with a better perception of you than anyone, even your own conscious mind.  Leave this channel that connects you with your inner voice open and clear.  Encourage the inner voice to speak by asking a question and meditating on it.  Empower your inner voice by putting its insight and advice to work.  Material possessions and tangible results are never the inner-mind’s true priority; the motive is to have you become more you.  The inner voice is not influenced by the world around it; it is simply hidden away or ignored.  It’s thought process is beyond logic and reason; by listening to it, you are relying on a process beyond your own understanding.  This is where things become unreasonable.                              

            Your inner voice does not care whether you are rich or poor; in love with someone or single; what social class or group you are in, or wish to be a part of.  It only cares about the growth of the true you, absent of all social, material, and tangible desires.  The inner-mind subconsciously plans to achieve its ultimate goal of making you a better you.  These plans are elaborate and to the logical, conscious mind they are difficult to comprehend and impossible to predict.

            The inner-mind can manipulate and trick the conscious mind.  This is because conscious mind is so often full of unimportant, untrue, and conformed social concepts that guide individuals away from their true selves.  It makes listening to the inner voice next to impossible.  Concepts like “Prettier is better” or “Wealthier is better” dominate the conscious mind.   For me, it was visual artistic skill that I chased.  When I was younger I valued my relationship with my inner voice but there were still so many social concepts that I had acquired; “The more skilled the artist, the better the artist”.  Doesn’t that sound so reasonable and logical?  Notice how easily misled the logical mind can be.  The truth that I had later discovered is, “The more creative the artist, the better the artist”.  In my younger days I chased artistic skill and prestigious art education programs.  I was the teenager on the bus sketching other patrons as they rode to their destinations.   Pursuing artistic skill had become my life.  I saw that art would be my future and would not hear anything contrary to my dream.  My vision was to become a great artist and create pieces that would change the lives of others. 

            I had a high school sweetheart during these years that also enjoyed art. Perhaps she had been attracted to my unwavering focus to improve my skill.  During this phase in my life it was realism, human anatomy, and the masters of the High Renaissance that were my artistic inspiration.  My girlfriend saw my newest goal was to draw a portrait of photographic quality.  It must have possible if other great artists could do it.  I had sketchbooks that were full of eyes, noses, and lips that I had drawn.  For some reason I could never get them to work together.  There was always some error. 

            My girlfriend gave me a photo of herself as a baby.  She asked me if I could draw it; I told her I would try and that I could not promise her a successful product.  I sat and drew and erased in the dining room of my home for ten hours straight.  During this time I studied until I memorized every line and every angle of the child’s face.  To my surprise the portrait was a success; equal to the quality of the photograph she had given me.  Instantly, I was filled with love for her.  I had fallen in love with the sight of her.  It felt like I had taken her beauty within me and understood it without a shadow of a doubt and I had proof of this experience; a simple drawing.

This is the actual portrait drawn when I was 17 years old.

            I remember meditating afterwards for days; “Is she the one?”  I had asked this question about every girl I’d cared for.  The answer had always been NO.   I remember this time the voice said YES.  Of course she was the one.  I was the only person that truly understood how beautiful she was.  From then forward I pursued her love, her company, and artistic skill like never before.

            My love for my girlfriend, for art, for the world and nature had all become interlinked.  I seemed to need all of these things to feel whole and I became so much more aware of and confident in my true self.  During my pursuit for artistic skill, a better understanding of myself, and the world around me, I made the decision to go off to a college out of state.  Though it was very difficult at times, my love for her was amazingly strong.  I kept the drawing I had of her as a reminder of my feelings for her.  She, on the other hand, did not find the distant relationship so empowering.  She made the decision to break up with me.  I had been broken.  I begged her for three hours (which felt more like an eternity) to compromise.  I then was fed up and said it had to be because she didn’t feel that I  was worth it; she agreed.   “Enick, in your own words, ‘YOU’RE NOT WORTH IT’.”  I remember the words as if it were yesterday.

            As a result, I gave up on my pursuit for artistic skill.  I had given up on my love for the world.  I had given up on women.  I knew that I had been tricked by my inner voice.  But why was that so?  What had I been given other than heartache and misery?  Self-confidence.  There was no way!  How could I be happy without her?  I had found the bravery to listen to my inner voice and chase my dreams.  That can’t be true!  I can’t pick up a pencil to draw anymore!  I found a desire to find out more about myself and the world around me.  I embraced my ability to associate my concepts of the world with something else – art.

            Not even my heartache, nor my resentment for the world could have taken away those things I had learned and acquired.  She was the one.  I had learned so much and acquired so many tools so quickly, simply by pursuing my dream.  If I never pick up a pencil to draw again, I have still benefited greatly from listening to my inner voice and following my dream to become an artist.  We are still friends that speak today and I still occasionally talk with her over lunch or dinner.  I am extremely grateful of her role in my personal growth.

            Take pleasure in exploring the depths and power of the mind.  It surpasses all logic and will never cease to amaze you.  She was the one but not in the sense that I was expecting.  No longer do I pursue the dream of becoming an artistic genius.  Artistry has simply evolved into creativity.