I Used To Dream

I used to dream that wars would end
That walls would crumble and unity would happen
And strife would cease, that love would prevail

I used to dream that girls would see their God-created beauty
That boys would know it's ok to cry
And societal labels would cease, that love would prevail

I used to dream that over-zealous religiosity would stop defining "the common good"
That self-interest and preservation would stop limiting commitment to relationship
And hypocrisy and judgment would cease, that love would prevail

I used to dream of clean water and food for children all over the world
That slavery and oppression of colour, gender and age would be exposed
That injustice would cease and love would prevail

But now I no longer have the ability to dream
For those dreams have been crushed by the brutality of what is real
Reality that is uncontainable chaos unleashed
Where the only way to navigate is to hold on to pieces of tangible beauty in the midst of suffering, and hope for Kingdom come

But dreams...
Dreams are words, images of ideals
Ideals crafted by the selfish desire for perfection
Ideals separated from the reality that perfection--holiness?--of the self, the world and everything in between is never possible because created being's definition of "perfection" insists on tracing its roots back to the self

Yet I will choose to dream a different dream.
A dream that one day I can be set apart from my self.
That my disillusionment from reality being so far removed from my selfish ideal would no longer cripple me.
That my standards of judgement of how the world should be instead of how it is would cease...

And that the only constant of my dreams...
That love,
Only love...

That love will prevail.

- June 29, 2011