“Faith Is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase”
One of my favorite quotes from Nobel Peace Prize winner Martin Luther King, Jr. is “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”
As a song writer, you must paint a picture with as few words as possible to provoke an emotion. Martin Luther King was a master at creating emotion in his words. If you haven’t heard MLK’s speech, I Have A Dream, one of the greatest speeches ever delivered, please take a few minutes and check it out.
Dr. King, Jr. also quoted the bible in this speech which made it better researched and more profound according to many speech analysts.
In my song Dream On, a very high energy song that I have written about in previous posts, it is similar to Dr. King’s speech as in the research I did before writing the words to that song and quotes I used from the bible. Dr. King’s speech was a motivating force to this song. I generally write a paper that captures the thoughts and meaning of my songs before I begin writing the lyrics of each song.
Click here to Read the Dream On paper.
Dream On was the second song I wrote for The Blind Boys of Alabama project that captured my friend Freddie Lonzo’s (Preservation Hall horn section) beautiful trombone solo. Dream On is about keeping our Dream alive and the importance it is to always have faith that our dream is important no matter how old you are or how silly it may seem. “When one remains firm in Faith to live one’s Dreams and when one draws upon the creative, divine ideas (Dreams) which are the building blocks of life, thus putting your Dream On.” When I wrote this quote, I used it as one of the inspirational building blocks of the song.
I have attached both of my papers regarding the derivation and the biblical research of the song Dream On. Another quote of mine is “Moment by moment, our dreams are becoming reality. As you get your Dream On you are then living your dreams.”
I was speaking with one of my mentors Ricky McKinnie, CEO of The Blind Boys of Alabama recently on a subject that I was feeling uncertain about. He told me “Ron, you must always keep the Faith in your dreams and in what you are doing to realize your dream” He made a difference in my life that day and as he has so many times. I truly hope this post and the song Dream On will do the same for you. Dream On will be released shortly.
That is why I started off with Dr. King’s quote. “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” So many times, we feel it’s someone else’s responsibility to change the world single handedly. The truth is that no one can single handedly change the world as Dr. King demonstrated to all of us, but by working together we can make a difference by keeping the faith and your Dream On. In all of our daily lives, we have endless possibilities to make a difference. I believe “Change only happens through constant small differences being made daily.” Every day there are endless opportunities to carry our torches of hope when we Dream On and make a difference.
I believe to “Get Your Dream On” is your declaration that it’s never too late to accomplish everything that you Dream or that has been placed in your heart as your journey. We all have the strength and determination to overcome every obstacle, every challenge, to come through every difficulty better than ever before. Today is the day we all can make a difference in ourselves and in others.
Let’s all take a moment and think of how Dr. King was able to make a difference in all our lives because he lived his dream and kept the faith in his dreams.