I was driving home from the hospital last night and I happened to catch Air1‘s Martin Luther King Jr. mix of The City Harmonic’s “I Have A Dream (If Feels Like Home)”. As I listened, I cried. I was struck with the power of dreaming. Not just what you can accomplish by dreaming, but what you can inspire in others by the the sheer courage and vision that it takes to really dream big.
It could be the way Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed… Or the way that Dr. Alfred Blalock and Vivien Thomas dreamed. (Have you ever seen this movie? Amazing.) It doesn’t have to be big in ways that everyone would understand. My life is forever changed by my parents’ dreams. It’s forever changed by the dreams that Toby and I have dreamed together. It’s been forever changed by my grandparents’ dream of coming to America. And all those dreams that have changed my life haven’t just changed my circumstances – they inspire me every day.
It’s that chain of dreams, inspiration, and courage that really touches me – shows me what we’re truly capable of as a human race. The good we can do for each other amazes me. I hope that someday Emma and Noah understand that the greatest dream in my life has always been to be the best wife and mother that I can be. I hope that my dream to pursue photography preserves families for generations and inspires Emma and Noah to believe that they can do anything they set their minds to. I dream of being able, in some small way to leave the world a better place than I found it – whether that’s by raising great kids, sharing my cancer experience, or by teaching for the few years that I did… Who knows if that will ever come true. But I think that’s my favorite part of dreaming – giving your heart and soul courageously to something you believe is possible, not knowing if it will ever inspire or make any difference at all. I wonder if the doctors who pioneered chemotherapy or heart valve replacement could really have felt the weight of the lives they would save, or the gratitude of all of those families who have their courage and vision to thank for more days with their loved ones…
Lately my fire’s been running a little dim. I’ve had a lot going on and it’s been wearing me thin… But it’s moments like I had in the car last night that I become overwhelmed with gratitude. I can’t help but be overcome with thankfulness for way that God inspires us to dream big and the way those dreams come together with His grace to weave a web of goodness and hope that touches so many.
Thanks to those of you who support my dreams and to so many of you who inspire me in countless ways.
Annie