Dr. King’s Message

Dr. Martin Luther King had a dream. This dream was not a dream solely wished for black peoples, Dr. King had a dream for everyone throughout the world and beyond. He dreamed of a place that was tolerant and patience where people could come together and discuss their differences.

Unfortunately, the message of non-violence does not fare well in a society where action and reaction is held as positive attributes to one’s character. Life is challenging and humans are programmed to fight even when the need to fight is not based on survival. That desperate need is our weakness. It is a lack of self control and a lack of elevating oneself to see beyond. The human weakness is based on fear and a lack of understanding within.

I believe that non-violence does not mean weakness, it means true discipline. A former Navy Seal commander, a warrior trained as a force to fight and kill if necessary, once said that if presented with a situation to fight in the street, he would flee. He is not weak in mind and heart, it is actually the contrary. He is extremely strong in the will of his inner mind. He understands that evading a dangerous situation has no bearing on his self esteem or even the value placed on him by those around him. If someone placed a charge on him that he exhibited weakness, he could easily disregard it because he knows in the depths of his soul that fear is something that exists in us all and to harness fear and move beyond is the true definition of freedom. He is truly strong and I admire that immensely.

Weakness is the great show and fear is a prison of the mind. Strength is to transcend and focus. This type of inner fear, the fear of appearing weak to oneself and those around you, is the real plague of our society and one that will never be fully eradicated.

Fear is a human trait that exists within us all. It must be harnessed and embraced and coaxed in the right direction. Fear is a great force and fear harnessed is the type of non-violence Dr. King spoke about. What he preached was the choice we all have to react. Essentially, we have the choice to kill or we can build. In a speech prior to his assassination, Dr. King said “build baby build!” He was not speaking about an action, he was speaking about a choice. That choice was to harness fear, accept it, and transcend its acidic ways and react in a positive way.

Fear is a destructive force. Could fear masked by action be the most destructive force on earth? I say this because this type of masking leaves one exposed and headed down an insignificant path away from what really matters.

Fear is the great show. Maybe one has to show strength in order to show that one is not weak. That show is a token given as a means to gain respect, and therefore, an alliance to stay an attack. The show is a shield.

The most important thing to realize is that we are all human and we are all guilty of this exhibition. I am no different as I am human. What I learned is that the reaction or choice that we have the power to create, is the marker of our true inner power.

I choose to build, that is the show of my inner power. There are others that choose to work and assist and gather and develop and create and perform. These are all positive traits that are markers delineating our reaction to fear. These markers can easily be read from the outside and are a window into one’s mind and soul. Thus, one’s actions is an expression of what resides within the truth of one’s mind.

I heard a story of a young man that felt wronged by a rival. He went to the other kids home and knocked on the door. The kids mother answered and called for her son. When the kid arrived at the door, the young man shot and killed him in front of his whole family. That young man has been in a cell since that day. Essentially, two people perished that day.

That young man’s response was a desperate attempt to conceal the fear of being weak and the need to be accepted as strong and worthy. It was a steep price to pay and I imagine one not worth what he had to give up in order to fill those inner needs. Unfortunately, there are always steep prices to pay for these types of actions. That is what Dr. King warned us about. Maybe that was the calling of his life and his death, which he knew was inevitable, was the acknowledgment that he had fulfilled the purpose of his life, a fulfillment that not many humans are able to achieve.

Maybe that was the message that Dr. King delivered to America and the world: A non-violent reaction to the human fear that resides within us all, is the path of true power that leads towards that life fulfillment.

It could be that without that fulfillment, life is simply something lived in a fog by those who are willing to expend the tremendous amount of energy and resources required to mask their own inner deficiencies, thus resulting in the demise of others in addition to all those that surround them and beyond.

These are just a few questions that we can ask ourselves: the deepest parts of ourselves. I have a dream…