Many of us have dreams,-- things we want to do with our lives. We strive for success in our career, ministry, social, or community activity. Many put feet to these dreams, giving them wings , until ‘life happens’ , or... they meet the ‘Dream Grinch’. Though the Dream Grinch is a very small creature, he has the uncanny ability to intimidate and rob us of our dreams. And how does he do it? By making big noises.
Dreams are fragile. Unless motivated by passion, like soap bubbles they pop as soon as the pressure is not right. Without passion, the most altruistic of dreams can be destroyed by a failed attempt, a whisper, by slander, or a discouraging look by a coworker. The dark clouds of failure loom over every dream, but if we learn from them, we soon discover their silver lining. The sad thing is when we, who find our dream in social or community service, empower the ‘Dream Grinch’ by listening to slander and gossip. As I said before, the Dream Grinch is a very small creature, but only when compared with the size of our passion. The passion for our dream, for the things we believe in, should be so great that it doesn’t matter whether people agree or disagree; like or dislike us or , slander or hurt us. It bears no power on our spirit. Passion propels the dream and drowns out the noise of the Dream Grinch. The Dream Grinch has only as much power as we allot him by listening to him. The questions we should ask ourselves when we are tempted to give in to his tiresome litanies are, “Is it true?” And even if it is, “When compared to the greatness of the vision, when aligned with the importance of the mission, does it matter?” And even more, ‘Is the protection of our sense of vindication and validation more important than the vision and mission at hand?”
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
If you appreciate these articles, support their upcoming publication in a book called, "REFLECTIONS OF A FIRE CHAPLAIN"
|