Oh, the workings of the subconscious mind!

I can't figure out why I keep having such weird dreams lately. Okay, so at least one or two of them were quite enjoyable--until I woke up right in the middle (not to my alarm!) and never did finish. Others of them have been rather bizarre.

Take last night for example. In my dream, I was on a day outing with my family. We were going to a museum or some such place, only it was out in the middle of nowhere. However, they had promised it wouldn't take all day, and that I could be home in time for dinner, because I had a date that night. I was excited to spend the day with my family, but I was really excited about going on a date with this particular guy.

Needless to say, something happened (I'm not really sure what), and there was no way that we were going to make it back. (That couldn't have anything to do with being out on the middle of nowhere, could it?) I pulled out my phone to text him and let him know I wouldn't be back in time and see if we could reschedule. However, as I pulled out my phone, I got a text from him...

The text said that someone (I was convinced it was his grandma, though I don't think the text actually said that) had fallen on her hand, "and whenever she falls on her hands..." I never did find out what happened when she falls on her hands, but judging by this statement, this was not the first time it had happened and there was a common result every time. Huh. In any case, he had to be with his grandma, so he was texting me to call off that night's date and reschedule. I was extremely disappointed about the date not happening, but I was also relieved not to feel stressed about getting back in time and to know that I would still get a chance to go out with him another time.

And that's about where the dream ended. Weird, huh? Any ideas as to what it might mean? (If anything...)

I have a dream...

I've been thinking this morning about what this holiday means, whether we call it Martin Luther King Day, or Civil Rights Day. In particular, I can't help thinking about the main message of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech ("I have a dream" begins at about 12:13). It seems to me that his main point was extending freedom to all citizens of the country, hoping for a better world for his children than he had known himself.

Isn't that every person's dream? Don't we all hope and pray that our children, born or unborn, will know a better world and greater opportunities than we have known? Today is not about winning rights for any one race. It is not about competition between races or individuals. It is not even about celebrating one man's dream. It is about humanity. It is about understanding that we are all one race: children of God--a God who loves us and desires our happiness. It is about learning to love one another, to look beyond the outward appearance, to see ourselves and others as God sees us. It is about becoming united for the common good, even as we celebrate our differences.

This dream for humanity has not yet been fulfilled. It is certainly better than when this speech was given, nearly 50 years ago. But the day must yet come when we will all join hands, as brothers and sisters, without regard to color, religion, size, shape, etc., and sing together, "Free at last! free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!" We need to be able to say, as Thomas Jefferson penned so many years ago, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." We need to mean it. The blessings of liberty must, in God's due time, be extended not only to our children, but to all children, to all people. Remember that the God "inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile" (2 Nephi 26:33). We, too, must open our hearts to receive all people as children of God.