“Every great dream begins with a dreamer.  Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”

– Harriet Tubman

I remember being in elementary school.  We would be assigned classwork — endless repetitions of the same ten Math facts — and the teacher would caution us, “No daydreaming now.  Everyone get to work.”  Just the facts, ma’am, as Joe Friday would say.  Just the facts.  Just the things we already know and must commit to memory so that we will one day be able to pass just the facts on to the next generation.  Personally, I think we might have done just as well with only one or two repetitions followed by the admonition, “Okay, kids.  Enough facts for today.  Everybody dream.”  How much more creative our stories might have been if we had written them about our dreams!  How much more creative our artwork might have been if we had drawn our dreams.  How incredible might our lives have been if we had learned early to dream big and follow our dreams through to fruition.

A friend of mine has a son whose creativity is boundless.  His mother tells the story of a day when she hadn’t seen her son for a while and opened the door to his bedroom to check on him.  As she began to speak, he held a finger to his lips.  ”Shhh!!!  Don’t bother me.  I’m imagining!”  Because she is a wise woman, she closed the door quietly and walked away.  Later, he shared with her the play he had written — the one he was imagining all alone in his room.  It is a lucky child who is encouraged to dream.  The world is fortunate when it is inhabited by dreamers who have not forgotten how to see the things that might grow one day from the seeds of their dreams.

Another childhood memory returns to my mind.  I was in fifth grade, and I was lucky enough to have a teacher who not only appreciated the facts we learned but also encouraged us to reach beyond her expectations.  When I received my report card at the end of the year, Mrs. G had written in the comment section, “Pammy has quite a flair for Creative Writing.”  She might just as well have written, “Pammy has the most creative excuses for not doing homework that I ever have heard,” but instead she told me something about myself that I was only beginning to dream.

I often think of that comment when I sit down to put my thoughts on paper.  I think of the way that my teacher dreamed success for me, in spite of my spotty homework record.  I think of the contagious nature of her dream and the way it gave me the strength, the patience, and the passion to pursue my dream of sharing my thoughts with others through the written word.  I think of all the places my dream has taken me, all the people I have met through pursuing my passion, and all the chances I have had to encourage other dreamers.  It is a magical thing when a dream becomes reality!  Whatever your dream might be, remember that if you are strong enough and patient enough and passionate enough, you just might reach the stars.