Children are often asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” And with all that imagination, they reply, “A doctor, lawyer, merchant, chief, rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief.”
“What do you want to be?” a boy asked a man. The man chuckled and replied with an open heart, “A child again. To dream the dreams of childhood. To see the visions of far shores and trees, for I am a man with a dream fulfilled, and I am not complete. I’ve sung the songs, I’ve played the tunes. My heart has felt the beat. I felt the flutter of a butterfly wing against my summer cheek. If now I am asked ‘what will you be?’ I will be it all. I will climb more mountains and cross more creeks. My hands will touch the sky. I will sing, I will build, I will share my love, all before I die.
So, if now I am asked ‘what will you be?’ I will be it all. More dreams to fill, for I am not complete. You see, boy, I had a nightmare I died last night, early morn. I’m really torn. We hit the ground, then heard a splash, it was all over in an instant flash. My heart was bleeding, my pulse felt faint. Hard time breathing, happy I ain’t. What does this mean, this saddened dream? It means we must start living, we must daydream. Now I am spending the day, happy, and in peace. My first day of living, my first day of living this life on a lease. Borrowed time is what I have left now, so I will make a difference, God make me see how. How to live, how to love, how to be a better me. How to share, how to laugh, how to show the world how to see. I want to live a life healthy, pure and strong, I want to live this life, healthy, pure and long. ‘Today is the first day of the rest of your life,’ a wise man once preached. That day is today, that day I have reached.
So, God, color my world with a dream of strength, with a vision to see the farthest of length. Strengthen my hands, my courage as well. Don’t be a jailer and lock me in a cell. I’m striving to stretch, I gave up my shy. Now I can see where eagles do fly. If I am to die while climbing this task, I did it the best; God told me, I asked. He said, ‘I will be your guiding light. Don’t hunt after trouble, but look for success! You’ll find what you look for, don’t look for distress. If you see but your shadow, remember this and pray. The sun is still shining, but you’re in the way. Don’t grumble, don’t bluster, don’t gripe, don’t shirk. I will take care of you, just think of your work. The worries will vanish, the work will be done, for no man sees his shadow who faces the sun.’”
— Shana Sue Green, my beautiful mother
#BeAble