“I cannot lose hope, because when you lose hope, you die.” -MLK
Martin Luther King was murdered 40 years ago today at the age of 39. For those of us of a certain age, the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy in the 1960’s represented a great waste of amazing passion and talent. For some of us, it began to seem like anyone of unusual vision, intelligence and passion didn’t have a chance of surviving in this punishing, bigoted, gun-filled land.
Martin Luther King was killed for having a dream and believing in it fiercely. Against amazing odds he persevered, until some small, stupid man gunned him down. Did he achieve his dream? In some areas great progress has been made. Even if his dream has not come to full fruition, I still admire a man who can stand in the middle of outright racist hatred and bigotry, and still believe in his dream.
He is my best example of a man who lived a life of extraordinary courage. When he was surrounded by discouraging circumstances, when death threats came from everywhere, he stood tall and believed in his dream.
We can all learn a lot from such a life well lived. Don’t lose hope, don’t give up! Do you have a fighting spirit? Can you find encouragement even in apparent defeat? Can you see in discouragement the best reason to fight even harder for your dreams?
Midlife is a great time to find new dreams to pursue. Maybe the others didn’t work out as planned, so what’s next? There is still time to reconsider and re-invent your life. What if you don’t succeed? You still followed your dreams, and gave it your best shot! Find your passion, find what gives your life meaning! Find out what you’re made of, and who you really are right now. Time’s a wasting!
