Dreaming Dreams

My dream looks like this.

Bobby Kennedy was the single most important mentor in my life. Additionally, his words, either written or spoken, have been guideposts for me. Bobby was able to put words to what was spinning around in my mind or to help me better understand various issues. I have benefited from his example in his life as I journeyed down the yellow brick road of my life.

Additionally, Bobby was a father to my generation. He motivated millions of whites during the civil rights movement in the 60s. He was able to see as a white person much of what blacks were facing. He could speak to blacks in America and in the South Africa during apartheid. Regardless of race and other differences, he listened, he instructed, and he helped millions of Americans and many millions more throughout the world.

The single sentence that spoke to me the most was what Bobby said about dreaming. “Some men see things as they are and say, why; I dream things that never were and say, why not.” That sentence focused me and my generation as we faced seemingly insurmountable problems like racism, poverty, and the war in Vietnam.

While dreaming dreams is critical, realizing one’s dreams needs more than merely dreaming. Dreams take work in addition to the dream. Dreaming isn’t a wasted effort. Nevertheless, effort to realize a dream is critical. Without effort, one is merely daydreaming.

In my twilight years, the picture of the lake with mountains in the background is the most important of all my dreams. Before I run out of anymore bricks on my yellow brick road of life, I want to create a small utopian experiment. I’m going to bring together all my family members together from various countries throughout the world. Some live in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and America, but they all are family. Maybe the utopian experiment might motivate others to be more inclusive about who makes up their family.







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