With all of the encouraging Martin Luther King Jr. quotes and articles circulating the web lately in tribute to Martin Luther King Day along with the incredibly moving movie, “Selma,” being released to commemorate his journey and accomplishments, it’s hard to NOT feel motivated to chase your dreams! Martin Luther King acted as the leader to fight for a cause bigger than he was and understood that everyone had to come together to work for accomplishing what was truly important. Now, 50 years after his marches in Selma, Alabama, America continues to honor the man who lead the movements to bring America to a place of equality for all, regardless of the color of their skin or their gender.
Lately I have been very inspired to learn as much about this incredible man as I could and I have never felt more inspired to chase my dreams! It has also encouraged me to reflect on how lucky we are in present-day America to have the opportunities that we have to fight for what we believe in and make our dreams come true. We have come so far since Martin Luther King Jr.’s movements but we still have a long ways to go. We must all stick together as MLK encouraged to find peace without using violence in the hard times that our world is facing.
One of the biggest lessons we can learn from the struggles that Martin Luther King Jr. endured on his journey for Civil Rights is that violence is not the answer and you should NEVER give up on something that you believe in, no matter how many times you may get knocked down! When your journey takes a turn that you didn’t anticipate, as painful as it may be, you should embrace it! Feel the pain and let it course through your veins! Learn from what happened and use that pain that you felt to inspire you to try harder next time. If something that you wanted doesn’t work out, accept that it’s because there is something even bigger on the horizon!
Martin Luther King Jr. showed the world that by uniting as one with passion and drive, anything was possible! One of my favorite quotes of his was “I submit to you that if a man hasn’t discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.” I truly believe that! If you don’t dedicate yourself to your cause, whether it be fighting for world peace, chasing your dreams or BOTH, then your life will not be as fulfilling as it could be. I can tell you all firsthand that there is no greater feeling in the WORLD than the feeling of seeing your hard work pay off and experiencing your dreams coming true. It’s truly magical and the struggles endured on the way make the end results so much more fulfilling!
While his life was cut tragically short, Martin Luther King Jr. died in pursuit of his dreams, which included freedom and equality for all men and women. In spite of all of the obstacles that he and his “non-violent army” faced, they never gave up. He took the struggles that he endured and learned from them in order to approach the issues that he was trying to fix in a smarter fashion. He didn’t resort to violence and didn’t give up when it seemed that he didn’t have a chance. Instead, he used the pain to inspire him even more! He understood that he wouldn’t be able to do everything on his own, so he rallied people to unite for the causes that they all believed in: Equality for all through peace. He and his team have opened so many doors for this amazing country and have shown us that if we all unite for the greater good, we can do anything.
This should teach us that the small things in life that we claim to be insurmountable are just our own excuses for not taking action or pursuing our dreams. We are so lucky to live in a country where we have the freedom to fight for what we believe in and chase the dreams that we have. Use this amazing gift to make your life as fulfilling as possible by doing everything that you can to turn your dreams into your reality!