USD Magazine, Winter 2002

Dream a Little Dream

by Rabbi Wayne Dosick, religious studies professor

We Americans are dreamers. Our parents or grandparents or great grand– parents came to this land of freedom and opportunity to live the "American dream." Here, they - and we, their blessed and grate– ful descendants - built a land where every individual can embrace education, work hard , pursue happiness, and gain material success and personal soul-satisfaction. We have hon– ored our diversity, and tried mightily to forge a common bond . Our country surely has become the beacon of hope for millions who wish to escape political tyranny and economic hardship. We know there are those who are envious of our economic strength, resentful of our democratic freedoms , angry at our political alliances, disdainful of our Western values. Yet, in our joy over what we achieved - or perhaps in our hubris - We convinced our– selves that America and Americans are invul– nerable and invincible. Then came Sept. 11 , 2001. In an instant, our American dream was deeply tarnished and , for many, shattered . That is why it seems as if we are in Alice's rabbit hole, our world turned upside down. Broken dreams have the power to break hearts and spirits. So what happens when dreams die? Can broken dreams rise from the ashes, can shat– tered dreams be made whole again? Sadly, the answer is no. Once broken , dreams cannot be made who le again . If we fail to realize this funda– mental truth, we can spend the rest of our lives trying to glue together that which is irretrievably shattered. Instead, we need to dream new dreams. We wi ll find peace when we come to know that our youthful dreams of invincibility and immortality - for ourselves, for those we love and for our country - are but one more of life's sweet illusions. New dreams are possible only when the death of old dreams is acknowledged and embraced. Then, new dreams are limited only by the imagination, and everyone knows that imagination is without limit. So, how do we begin to dream new dreams for ourselves and for our country?

New dreams begin in three places. First, they begin in strength. We wi ll not survive and flourish if we are perceived as weak. So we demonstrate might, and we hope that those who oppose us wil l see our resolve , feel our strength, and stop their insidious attacks on our way of life. The second place new dreams begin is in love. The human family is fractured and in pain. It wi ll not be healed with more hate, but only with more love. If we must defend , if we must discipline, it can be from love. We love by being loving, or at least by com– ing from a place of love. We love by recogniz– ing the infinite worth of each and every one of God's children , misdirected and misguided though some may be. We love by recognizing that in each human being is every human being. And that brings us to the third place where new dreams begin - in faith . We are, after all , only human. In our pain, we cannot always tap into our highest selves, our best selves, our most loving selves. And so we turn to God. We cannot face this pain alone. We taste the bitterness, we are overcome with anguish. We cannot find the place of love. So, be with us, God. For in You is the recon– ciliation and the healing , in You is the rebirth and the renewal, in You is the promise of life and life everlasting. In strength, love, and faith, we dream new dreams, and we move toward the vision of One World , joyfully united , in the holy pres– ence of our One God. If you wi ll it - if you really, really want it - it is no dream. + Rabbi Wayne Dosick, Ph.D., 0.0., is an adjunct professor at the University of San Diego, the spiritual guide of The Elijah Minyan, and the director of The Soul Center for Spiritual Healing. He is the award-winning author of six critically acclaimed books, including When LifeHurts: A Journey from Adversity to Healing.

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WINTER 2002