"The poorest person of all is not the person without a cent but the person without a dream."
At least once each year during summer, I think about and miss those hot, lazy, Eastern Washington sunny days floating on the Little Spokane river. As a pre-teen I allowed the current to carry me at its discretion. Drift into a side channel or quiet backwater, or go aground on a warm sandbar. Navigation left to chance. Time unchanging, worldly cares unknown. Enjoyable. A time to daydream. For a pre-teen that is okay.
As one matures, drifting along on the river of life is not the best way to navigate. To keep from going aground demands a properly charted course—direction. Growing older without direction, we become self centered, mentally lethargic.
That is not how it is meant to be. We are learning, growing, thinking, productive creations. The direction we focus on depends on us. When we live in the past, either yearning for past successes or bewailing past failures, we waste our present and soon despair of our future.
Start building on today. What we do today helps determine where we will be tomorrow. Do things today to positively effect our lives in years to come. Develop a positive vision.
What vision of the future are our children and grandchildren hearing from us, at school, on TV? It is difficult to maintain a positive vision in today’s negative atmosphere. Fear, anger, and despair seem to dominate.
The result? For those standing on the shifting sands of secular values, hope is lost. They have turned from the source of hope. For those who stand on the solid rock, the belief in a loving God who created each for a purpose, who takes a hand in our daily lives, there is always hope.
To feed that hope avoid the no-sayers, negative thinkers who are more than willing to tell us all the reasons why as a nation and as an individual we can’t—how bad it is, how bad it is going to get. At times that may be somewhat true. There have always been reasons not to try. Does it mean we can’t? Of course not. We need to look for reasons why we can, why it will work. Read about, listen to, and associate with those who triumphed over adversity, those who say, "I can do all things through Christ." This is what built a free, powerful, and prosperous America.
Where are we today regarding yesterday’s dreams and hopes? Did we even have a dream? If not, identify and clarify a vision of what can be. Maybe it is to write a novel, learn a musical instrument, race vintage cars, volunteer or run for public office, climb a mountain, turn your hobby into a full or part-time business, go to Bible college, change occupations.
It is not always easy. As we grow older we may become hesitant to take on new things. And the twin enemies, self doubt and fear of failure, can bring on a non-productive negativism. To defeat negativism we need inner joy, a joy not controlled by circumstances, but by our faith in a loving God who takes a hand in our daily lives.
Whatever our aspiration, we need a burning desire to accomplish—this builds enthusiasm. And enthusiasm overcomes self doubt and fear of failure. Enthusiasm provides the mental and physical energy needed to overcome setbacks and obstacles others consider impossible. Yes, it may take more than one try. And yes, we need to keep at it. But, how can we become over comers if we do not have anything to overcome?
Instead of the negative thinkers’ Murphy’s Law, try John C. Maxwell’s Law: "Nothing is as hard as it looks; everything is more rewarding than you expect; and if anything can go right it will and at the best possible moment."
Our nation was not built by those just going with the flow. It was built by those who had a vision of what could be—then did.
_______ Michael E. Odell
COMMENTS: Your thoughts and comments are welcome, well most of the time.
E-mail: MichaelOdell@Lycos.com
