Dreams: Part 2
Last post, Dream: Part 1, I put forth the idea that dreams are just the start, they are the marker for what race we are to run. Also, dreams can be overwhelming when there is no time or space to do all we dream about, so I asked you to consider what you dream about the most; not if you can do it or not, but what dream keeps reoccurring.
This post we'll continue with the idea that dreams are just the beginning of the race day—the way for you to know what event to run. To unpack this a little more, we'll look at another way to tell what our dreams (“callings/purposes”) in life is by looking at who you gravitate towards.
During my college years at Southeastern University, then Southeastern College, I had a radical adjustment to my faith. I went with the intentions of being a right-winged Evangelical pastor to became an agnostic who didn't know what to believe, just what I know I didn't want to believe anymore. In that journey, the only thing I really wanted was truth. I started gravitating towards the Episcopal Church and to the ever-Socratic Tim Ervolina. Deacon Tim challenged me with other views and gave me questions in response to the questions I asked. I wasn't being told what to believe, but what I really believed was being pulled out of me. I was drawn to his love of truth because I wanted truth.
Maybe there's someone like that for you, someone who pushes you intellectually, emotionally, or spiritually? Is there someone, or a group of people you keep coming back to who make you want to be better, live healthier, or dig deeper? We often look up to them and want to think they are better than us and we could never be as good as them, don't we? I often do. Maybe instead, we should be looking at them to better find out who we are?
Here's what I found. My dream is to alter the world consciousness towards a more equitable world, a more just planet for our sisters and brothers facing the greatest vulnerabilities in this life. It goes to the heart of who I am and what I read; what I've been dreaming about for a very long time. I understand this through memory, but my constant pull towards people who share my dream, people like Jesus, Gandhi, Dr Martin Luther King, Jean Vanier, the Hebrew Prophets, and Dr Cornel West. I may never be like these people, in fact its best I don't try to be them; but instead, know what draws me to them: a love for a more equitable and just world.
This is how I've stepped into my dream. On way I took a step in this direction was to open up conversations with AJ Leon and the band of Mis-fits who are out to change the world for good. I've teamed up with Will Hampton and the rest of the launch members at Two Rivers Assembly to make world transformation a tangible reality. Another step I've taken is the Araminta Freedom Initiative. The Araminta Freedom Initiative is a generational commitment to stop the sex trafficking of minors in the Baltimore area. If you are in the Baltimore area and this makes sense to you, join up like I have.
Maybe this group I just mentioned doesn't click for you. That's fine. Start identifying who you click with, who you look up to so you can figure out what your dream is and how to start your race.
Think of what it would be like if a handful of people connected with their dream and started moving towards it. What would it be like if people were internally driven to make steps to better the world around them in different areas? I like what comes to mind when I start imagining these answers!
Please tell me who you gravitate towards?
