Keep your dreams alive and cherish the hope that keeps you moving towards them.

Monday is Martin Luther King Day in the US, a day to celebrate this remarkable civil rights leader who used non-violence to bring about radical change in the US in the 1950s and 1960s. In the famous speech this quote comes from, Dr. King articulated his dream that his children would be judged by the strength of their character not the color of their skin. Soon after the speech, the US passed the Civil Rights Act that ensured enforcement of equal rights for all regardless of race, religion or sex. When it comes to civil rights for everyone on the planet, there is still much to hope and dream for.

Dr. King, like the Dalai Lama today and Mohandas Gandhi before him, understood the dignity and shared humanity of all people. Since that speech, scientists discovered that all cultures throughout history have respected 24 common character strengths, including hope. Not only are we are all happier and more satisfied with our lives when we practice these traits, but we achieve more. The drive for both happiness and achievement also appear to be part of our common humanity.

A recent New Yorker article suggests that another common trait we humans share is curiosity and a willingness to take big risks to satisfy that curiosity. Forty thousand years ago, Homo Sapiens and Neanderthals lived on this earth together, but the Homo Sapiens survived and thrived and Neanderthals became extinct. The Neanderthals only spread to areas where the land was connected, but Homo Sapiens were willing to risk their lives in the name of curiosity and sail over the horizon in small boats. This allowed early man to populate remote islands like Australia and the Pacific Islands where no land bridge existed. While these early explorations may have had happy endings for the people in the boats, their friends and family left on the shore never heard from them again.

Like Pandora’s Box in the Greek myth, our curiosity and sense of adventure can unleash all manner of evil and harm. It is easy to be damaged by the adventure of life when we bravely go where no one has gone before. As in the myth, hope remains in the box to keep us moving forward towards our ideals and goals despite the obstacles and hurts we encounter.

To err is human as it is to hope that our errors lead to innovation, growth, and the realization of our fondest dreams- eventually.

Keep your dreams alive and cherish the hope that keeps you moving towards them.

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