The United States has been blessed to have many great orators in its history. Think of Abraham Lincoln, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Margaret Chase Smith, John F. Kennedy. Martin Luther King belongs right up in the top ten, too. Every time I discover one of King’s speeches that is new to me I find a paragraph or two that stand out so brilliantly for their truth and clarity that it brings tears to my eyes or makes me gasp in surprise. I honestly believe that many times King’s language came to him from another world it is so startling in its use of words, imagery, and emotion.
If you’ve read my blog very often you know that I firmly believe we are called to lead the life we are given from a place of deep vision. That vision fuels us, gives us courage, leads us through the dark times. Clear vision helps us to stand when we need to for ourselves and others, gives us answers as to how to guide our business, provides what I call the “ground of being” for our personal lives. Today, my friend Diana Blanco of Smooth Parenting shared an MLK quote that was new to me.
King speaks eloquently in this passage about how life is fueled by vision, while a lack of life is fueled by fear. I’ve said this in many poor ways over the years. King says it much better. Here it is for you.
You may be 38 years old, as I happen to be. And one day, some great opportunity stands before you and calls you to stand up for some great principle, some great issue, some great cause. And you refuse to do it because you are afraid….You refuse to do it because you want to live longer…..You’re afraid that you will lose your job, or you are afraid you will be criticized or that you will lose your popularity, or you’re afraid that somebody will stab you, or shoot at you or bomb your house; so you refuse to take the stand. Well, you may go on and live until you are 90, but you’re just as dead at 38 as you would be at 90. And the cessation of breathing in your life is but the belated announcement of an earlier death of the spirit.
Vision is life. Fear is death, whether you are still breathing or not. Thank you, Mr. King.
Tiffany deSilva says
January 29, 2013 at 1:06 pmThanks for sharing, Sue. These words are so true. What a powerful communicator and leader Martin Luther King, Jr. was, and still is, as his words continue to inspire us today.
Jennifer Bourn says
January 28, 2013 at 2:23 pmWow! What a powerful statement. We we fail to act an follow our passions, our desires, out of fear and we choose not to live, it’s true that we may as well be dead … at any age. This quote really gets you thinking!
Mitch Tublin says
January 27, 2013 at 1:42 pmOne step at a time is how we will create change. Excellent quote.
Heidi Alexandra says
January 26, 2013 at 5:11 amLove this amazing quote and as this is my age it really hit home for me – thank you!
Mary Ellen Miller says
January 25, 2013 at 9:13 amWow. Now that is an inspiring and beautiful quote to contemplate during this week that honored MLK. It reminds me of one of my favorite Mark Twain quotes:”“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”