I Had a Lovely Dream

You know those dreams that are still rolling along in your mind as you wake up? Well, yesterday I had one so sweet, I didn’t want to leave it. I had vision of a beautiful blue sky enveloping a tree on which a fluffy barred owl snuggled in a coat of thick ivy. But upon hearing the raucous barking of my dogs, I quickly awoke from my dreamy slumber.

I came downstairs and asked my husband what had gotten the dogs worked up, and as he pointed towards a big oak tree behind our house, he said,

“the owl just flew that way.”

I excitedly looked and spotted her instantly nestled in the ivy just like in my dream, and my eyes quickly saw that hers were fixated on the more likely culprits for my wakeup call, two red foxes. I’ve long looked to owls as a reminder to trust my inner wisdom, and I had seen a fox in our yard twice before, but Matt, who questioned such sightings and accused me of mislabeling a coyote, had not and was thrilled to finally lay eyes on not one, but two of the elusive, bushy-tailed creatures.

Thanks to the magic of waking from a dream that immediately turned into reality and the fun of the fox viewing, I was full of gratitude and literally love, as the words “I give love to all of my people, all of my people need love, I give some” literally looped in my mind.

I recognized it to be a pop song but wasn’t sure by whom, so I Google’d it to learn that it’s by Andy Grammar. Upon reading the full lyrics, I remembered seeing him on a morning show years ago, where he performed the song and spoke afterwards about his close relationship with his loving, late mother who had inspired the song.

As I finished my first cup of coffee, I remembered that it was Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a day immortalized by the dream of a man who certainly followed his intuition and who gave love to all of his people, ultimately losing his life while inspiring the world to do the same.

I don’t see these synchronistic happenings as coincidence, rather, I choose to see them as mini miracles with the power to turn the mundane into magic and remind us to always seek it.

And on that cold, clear January day, my three little ones and I lunched on gourmet pigs-in-a-blanket at the beautiful new home of friends, the boys and I watched The Little Mermaid as their baby sister napped and we hosted neighbors for a pizza dinner and some rowdy play. It was magical indeed.

That night as I spoke with Reed about Martin Luther King, he showed me a page he had colored at school with an illustration of the civil rights hero and the words, “I can be like Martin Luther King when I…” and Reed’s answer “am good” beside it in blue crayon.

I thought about the idea of good vs bad and about how MLK was a heralded hero, and rightly so, but how he was also human. He was known for giving his love freely to women who weren’t his wife, and he was accused of plagiarizing posthumously. I don’t mention these things to slander him or his legacy in any way, rather to remind myself and us all, that we don’t have to be perfect to be immensely impactful.

Shakespeare said it best, “to thine own self be true.”

I don’t think God or the universe or Spirit or whichever divine power one chooses to believe in or not, cares about the size or scale of our contributions or the goodness or badness of our behavior. I believe God is love and is inside all of us, and the best way to honor that love is to follow our hearts by pursuing our passions and spreading the love that the pursuit of truth brings.

But don’t worry, I didn’t try to explain this musing to my six-year-old, as I thought it better served for a slightly older set. But it is a message I hope to teach by example, as I make a conscious effort to push through fear and a desire to succeed in the traditional ways most of us have been taught, to instead take chances and follow my curiosities as illogical as they may seem. Because I believe those curiosities are little clues along the path to purpose, and when we have the courage to follow them, only then will we truly succeed in the way of happiness, peace and contentment.

So whether you’re clear on your life’s purpose, are still figuring it out or aren’t sure that you really have one, maybe you’ll take solace, as I do, in the fact that we can all make a positive impact on this world simply by being ourselves and by giving love to all - family, friends, foes and strangers alike. And whatever you do, please don’t forget that “all” includes you.

Give Love Lyrics

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Stefan Litrownik / Andrew Charles Grammer / Dave R Bassett / Gamal Lewis / Jeffrey David Goldford

Give Love lyrics © BMG Rights Management

My, my, my mother was a sunshine soldier

Every day was a dream come true
She said that we were blessed by the breath deep inside us
She could make the colors in the sky turn blue

She said, "Honey, what you gonna do today?
You're second guessing every single move you make
You're definitely gonna have some very hard days
But I'll be right here for you"
And she said "Before I go
There is one thing you should know"

"I give love to all of my people
All of my people need love, I give some
I give love to all of my people
All of my people need love, I give some
I give love to all of my people

All of my people need love, I give some
Cause in the end, the love we take's
Got nothing on the love we make
So give love
So give love
So give love"

She, she said, "You're gonna be a light in a cold world
You got extra love pumping up your veins"
To my people feeling down and my people feeling empty
I got so much of this love, I gotta give it away

Hey, honey, what you gonna do today?
You're second guessing every single move you make
You're definitely gonna have some very hard days
But I'll be right here for you"
And she said "Before I go
There is one thing you should know

"I give love to all of my people
All of my people need love, I give some

I give love to all of my people
All of my people need love, I give some
I give love to all of my people
All of my people need love, I give some
'Cause in the end, the love we take's
Got nothing on the love we make
So give love (Yuh)
So give love (Andy, you know I got you)

Put this on repeat, it's so elementary
This that 1 + 1 is 2, you sprinkle love, that equal 3
Maybe that's the remedy, blind man, he can even see
If you wanna cook it up, well, then I know the recipe
It's the L-O-V-E, (ah) now you see me (right)
Down the avenue, they hate I'm throwing the peace sign
That my own reply, you know I don't even try
Yeah, I give that love, I get that love, I know the reason why

"I give love to all of my people
All of my people need love, I give some
I give love to all of my people
All of my people need love, I give some
I give love to all of my people
All of my people need love, I give some
'Cause in the end, the love we take's
Got nothing on the love we make
So give love
So give love
So give love