LIKE A BOLT OUT OF THE BLUE

My minor in college (which actually ended up being a double-major when all was said and done) was Organizational Communication. A fancy term for not just speech, but also research and speech writing. I loved it. In fact, one of the toughest classes I took was actually in this department and it was the class that dealt with research as it applies to how we gather and disseminate data to the public. Media outlets tend to take their "fact-checking" seriously, so as to avoid law suits, you see.

In this class, we also studied some of the great orators: Demosthenes, Abraham Lincoln, Mother Theresa, Winston Churchill and...my personal favorite...Martin Luther King Jr.

He had a style and charisma that drew people in. He spoke from the heart and was eloquent, yet never spoke over people. It was one of his greatest strengths. And like most great orators, he was able to put what the masses were thinking into beautiful, uncomplicated words. He wasn't trying to make people read between the lines. He wasn't trying to be deep. And through all that 'not' trying, he was genuine. He said it like it was and I like that. Say what you mean and mean what you say.

I always wanted to memorize his "I Have a Dream" speech. I thought I'd try and do that someday during my lifetime and maybe I still will. It's a beautiful piece of writing and something that once I start listening to, I can't stop. Very motivating.

But his "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech is also powerful and it's the one that popped into my head today.

There's a part in the speech when he says, "But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough can you see the stars."

There's something to be said about having no where to go but up. Even when the top of the mountain looks light years away, the point is...it's there. Beckoning for you. Almost daring you to make your way.

On the days you think, "Surely it can't get any worse..." and it does - these are the times we are supposed to look up for the stars. I have had a difficult time doing that lately. When your legs keep getting cut out from under you, there's always crawling. I know the stars simply HAVE to be there.  Somewhere. Don't they? Maybe hidden behind a cloud for the time being. And maybe that huge mountain is even in the way, but they're there. Make a path and dare to dream, I suppose.

Which reminds me of something else...