LUCID DREAM

The day our nation celebrates the life of one dreamer is the eve of a coronation for another. Dr. Marin Luther King, Jr. said, “Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality.” This is a more eloquent rendering of, “Yes We Can.”


The inspirational appeal of both Dr. King and President-Elect Obama can be found in their urging for us to be our better selves. To reject the intoxicating impulse to be selfish. An impulse that we’ve all sipped from enough times to know that the high is short and, ultimately, unsatisfying.

Conversely, most of us can recall the subtle, yet sustaining, pleasure derived from the times we’ve reached out to help someone: a stranded motorists, a friend with short pockets, a homeless person with no pockets, a family member with an addiction.


It feels good to help people.


Especially when they show appreciation for your efforts. And even when they don’t. You did your part and that’s really the most important thing.


There comes a time in someone’s life when they embrace the fact that their sentient time on this planet is temporary. That life is short and death is certain. For some, this challenging embrace comes at a time of advanced age or during a severe health challenge. For others, a random brush with death is the light bulb.


At a four way intersection, I witnessed a fatal-level, collision aversion when a speeding car ran a red light and the potential victim swerved just enough to avoid it. I saw her pull to the side of the curb. When my light turned green, I slowly drove by and saw her on a cell phone, crying with an intensity that you don’t often see in public. But it was the look on her face that moved me most. A wide-eyed look of realization: I could be dead right now. No more family. No more gut-busting laughter. No more hot sex. No more I love yous.


I know that look because I’ve felt it on my face during my own near-death experience. My random reminder that life is short and death is certain makes me want to go out and do something meaningful with the time I have earth. To have a lifestyle actively engaged in the lives of others. It makes me wanna do my part. To help create a world with more communication and excellence and love, and less ignorance, fewer lazy choices and no haters.


Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and President-Elect Obama’s words are trumped by their eloquent lives. Their example inspires us to treat our fellow human beings like we believe we are interrelated structures. Like we believe we are One.


Peace & Blessings,

Michael Datcher
Editor