Reflection
Whatever happens to the body the spirit does not grow old. Our dreams reveal to us the basic truth of life: years are biological; the spirit is eternal. To stay alive, fully alive, then, we must open ourselves to life’s eternal dream. We must dream to be better people tomorrow than we were today. We do not have the right to give up growing just because age is assumed by many to have eclipsed the possibility. But that means that we must be willing to rethink all the ideas that have kept us bound until this moment. Are they still believable? Do we ourselves still believe them? And if we do not, what does that mean in regard to what we say to those younger people who have been influenced by these ideas because of us?
The very act of reviewing one’s own values, then and now, stands as a marker for us all. It reminds us that it is possible to learn as we go through life. It is even more important to be open to doing it and willing to report it. Life grows us. Life shapes us. Life converts us. Life opens us as we age to think differently, even about ourselves. We must allow ourselves to dream about what life could really be like if enough of us demanded that it were.
—from The Gift of Years by Joan Chittister
Prayer
May the Spirit enliven us.
Action
Consider the “ideas that have kept us bound”. How can you express them? How have you changed? What is your dream of what life could be like? How can you make it happen?
Suggested Reading
As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart.
Proverbs 27:19
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is.
Romans 12:2
There is in the human being a life force that never dies… Down deep we stay forever young. It is this surging, driving force that brings us to the bar of life every day of our lives, whatever our age, however much we have been through, prepared to live life to the hilt again.
Joan Chittister
You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.
C.S Lewis
To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.
Anatole France
Dreams are extremely important. You can’t do it unless you imagine it.
George Lucas
A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work.
Colin Powell
Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.
Carl Jung
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
Eleanor Roosevelt
There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.
Paulo Coelho
As soon as you start to pursue a dream, your life wakes up and everything has meaning.
Barbara Sher
Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.
Albert Einstein
When you stop having dreams and ideals – well, you might as well stop altogether.
Marian Anderson