Build
It and
He Will Come
by Marie T. Russell
 "I have a dream!" Most of us are familiar
with this now famous line of Martin Luther
King as he spoke of his vision for the United
States and for mankind in general. He had
faith in his dream, in his vision.
Others throughout history have also had
visions, dreams, hopes, aspirations... Just like
we all do, or at least we all did at some point.
Sometimes the dream got buried and seemingly
forgotten. Except that it makes itself felt by
a vague unhappiness, an undefined longing, an
apathy that we can't identify.
What was your dream, your vision of your
future when you were younger? When you didn't
have a list of "I can't because" or "You
shouldn't because", or other objections whether
they came from inside yourself or outside
from your peers, teachers, parents, etc.
I remember many dreams that I had... many
of them could
have been valid choices made along the way. When
I was around 10 years old, having been selected
to sing a solo at midnight mass, I thought I
could be a professional singer. At one point,
having been named "the discovery of the year"
for my performances in the drama club, I thought
I could become a professional actress. Yet,
because of self-doubt, and because of lack of
encouragement from "the outside", I shelved
those dreams. I didn't think I "had it in me" to
accomplish these grandiose possibilities for my
future. Too many "what ifs" stood in my way,
too much self-doubt, too little self-esteem.
"What if it doesn't work out... What if I
fail... What if I'm just not talented enough...
What if I can't make money at it..." These what
ifs were the walls between me and my future.
Most of you can probably relate to that.
Most of us have grown up with self-doubt -- not
receiving the encouragement to "take the risk"
and go for our dream. At times, not only were we
not encouraged, we may have been actively
discouraged and told to choose a career that
would have security and a good pay-check. Some
of us traded our happiness for that security...
and everyday, some people choose to stick with
that path, and others choose to go for their dreams.
In the movie, Field of Dreams, another dream
is presented... building a baseball field in the
"middle of nowhere". The dream is so ludicrous
that Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella doesn't want
people to know what he is doing... How often do
we also fear ridicule when we share our dreams
with others? Or having been the target of jokes
and ridicule, how many of us dare keep going and
have enough faith in ourselves to stay the
course? It's not always easy... I know I gave up
my dream of singing when jealous siblings told
me I didn't sing very well. Somehow their input
had more weight than the music teacher's who had
chosen me to sing the solo at church. Somehow my
fear of failure was stronger than my love for
the theater. I didn't have enough faith in
myself and in my talents.
Faith in
ourselves. Now that is a big concept. Many of
us, having been raised in some form of organized
religion, recognize the word faith as having to
do with believing in something other than
ourselves... Faith in a higher power, in God, in
Jesus as the Savior, in angels, in miracles,
etc. Even Webster's first definition for faith
is: "unquestioning belief, esp. in God,
religion, etc." Faith has become equated with
belief in something or someone else.
How often do we equate faith with faith in
our own self? You may be familiar with Jesus'
statement about the mustard seed:
If
you had faith as a grain of mustard seed, you
could say to this sycamine tree,' Be rooted up,
and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey
you. -- Luke 26:34
Yet one thing is
unclear in this statement. Was Jesus referring
to faith in oneself or faith in God? Most people
may have assumed that he spoke of faith in God,
yet, his comment says "If you had faith... it
would obey you". Thus I take it to mean that if
we had faith in our own powers, in our own
divinity, that we could do these "impossible"
things. Did not Jesus also say, at one point,
that we too do could do these things he did? He
made clear that we too were children of God, and
that we too could do these "miraculous" things.
So, what happened?
Somewhere along the way, we didn't get the
message. The message that we are powerful, that
we also can "move mountains", that we also can
turn water into wine. I'm not talking about
magic here or witchcraft. I'm talking about
believing enough in ourselves to believe in our
own success, in our own divine potential.
Build it and they
will come... Follow your dreams, follow your
heart, and know that success (happiness, peace
of mind, abundance) will be yours. Whatever your
dream is... whether it has to do with career,
lifestyle, relationship, etc... whatever that
dream is, believe in yourself.
I firmly believe
that we are not given a dream without the
potential to make it come true. If you have a
seed, a dream, a vision, planted within you,
then you have the capability to make it happen,
and the Universe will help you in making that
seed flourish into a grandiose creation.
There's a book entitled
It's Never Too Late to Have a Happy Childhood.
Well, it's also never too late to have a happy
life, right here, right now. If you're not
living where you'd want to live, then do what
needs to be done so you can move. If you're not
in the career of your choice, then make changes.
If you're not the person you'd like to be, then
dig deep, get rid of the accumulated garbage
(anger, frustration, resentment, etc.), and find
the wonderful person you really are.
Whatever your heart
yearns for, (and I'm not talking lust, greed, or
any of those energies here), whatever your
highest vision of yourself is, if you can dream
it, you can achieve it. Start by believing in a
loving supportive Universe, and then go the next
step by believing in yourself as a "perfect"
child of that Divine Universe. Everything is
possible. Just go for it!
Recommended
book:
It's Never Too Late to Have a Happy Childhood
by Claudia Black
Info/Order
book.
 About The Author
Marie
T. Russell is the founder of InnerSelf Magazine (founded 1985). She also
produced and hosted a weekly South Florida radio broadcast, Inner Power, from
1992-1995 which focused on themes such as self-esteem, personal growth, and
well-being. Her articles focus on transformation and reconnecting with our own
inner source of joy and creativity.
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