From the hallway I could hear the muffled sound of the TV in the other room. Curiosity pulled me into that room to find my mother watching our old black and white set. I glanced at the set where I saw a man I didn’t recognize speaking in a way that commanded my attention.  As compelling as this man was, there was something else going on in that room that had an even stronger pull… my mother.

Looking over at my mom I saw her dislodge her glasses upwards as she wiped a steady stream of tears from her eyes. I had seen my mother cry many times. To be honest at that point in our lives there seemed to be an abundance of reasons for my mom to be in tears, but this was different.

As a ten year old boy seeing my mother cry was something that always disturbed me. I walked over, put my hand on my mom’s shoulder and in an attempt to comfort her I asked what was wrong. Looking up at me, she tried to smile but it clearly wasn’t working. She stumbled for words and pointed at the TV saying: “He’s dead?” I looked back at the set and the powerful charismatic presence of Martin Luther King Jr. rang out like a bell in the fog.

I was a boy living in a ghetto environment of a dirty industrial town in England, I had no idea why my mother would be crying about a man I didn’t think I’d ever seen before. I didn’t recognize him as a movie star, a pop star or even a British politician. Why was she crying? In my boyish naivety I asked “who is he?” My mom said; “that’s Martin Luther King, someone shot him.” I was still puzzled. My mom continued through a flood of tears and said; “He was a great man, and now he’s dead”.

I became fascinated with finding out who this man had been. I asked my uncle who I considered to be the smartest person I knew and he told me of Martin Luther King’s fight for civil rights; how Dr. King had followed Gandhi’s model of peaceful demonstrations. He told me of all the people black and white people alike who had stood by Dr. King’s side for the civil rights of all people.

April 4th 1968 was the day I not only became politically aware, it was the day something within my very soul was awakened. I began to grasp the difference this man had made, the impact he had left as a legacy, not just for black people but for all people. That day I began to understand that one person can make a massive positive difference. That day as a naive 10 year old I decided that I wanted to have the same kind of massively powerful impact on humanity that Dr. King had had on humanity, including my mother a Jewish woman living in a place that might have been a million miles away.

I of course, had no idea how I could make that difference; and to be honest, it seemed impossible based on the “facts” of who I was and the environment that surrounded me. I just knew that day that something within me had changed and it would never be the same.

Many people have seen Dr. King’s message as a message about freedom for black people. To me, his message was much deeper than color or creed. It was about the understanding that we are all the same, that at a soul level we are all on a journey, and it’s important to remove the blocks to our spiritual, mental, and emotional evolution. Although we may perceive those blocks as being outside ourselves, the truth is that they would all instantly disappear if we would commit to removing the ones on the inside.

40 plus years ago something tragic happened, a great man, a man who will remain a giant, died. I still see some of the injustices he fought against. However, that tragic event gave birth to a flood of awaking and opportunities that has changed the world.

Dr. King’s message is, I believe, even stronger today than it was in the 60’s. Today is Martin Luther King day, it’s a day we can be sad for the loss of a great man, or a day we can rejoice for the difference he made that we benefit from, no matter what our colour or creed is. Martin Luther King the man is gone.  However, I believe it is the strength of our heart’s desire to become the magnificent beings we were born to be that keeps taking this world, (despite what the media feeds us), to a place of knowing, what I believe Dr King was trying to teach us… we are all one. Nothing, and I mean nothing, can separate us from the truth of who we truly are, not racial profiling, not extremists of any colour or religious belief, not even war. Because who we truly are is… A gift!

Remember this always:

You are a gift from the universe, and when you are truly willing to know it, you will become the gift to THE world that you were born to be.

When you let yourself truly know this, then it that moment you are, I believe, keeping Martin Luther King’s Dream Alive

Happy Martin Luther King Day.

Long live Dr. Martin Luther King, in all our hearts, minds, and actions.

Please feel free to reblog and share this post.

I look forward to your feedback and comments.

With gratitude,

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  • John
    Thank you for the blog Dov.
    Reminded me that Dreams can't be heard or shared unless they are 1st spoken or someone writes them down. I enjoy reading your blogs. Keep up the great work & happy belated MLK day!
  • Thank you John,

    Always good to hear from you, we miss you here. Delighted to know you are reading the blog and enjoying the content.
    With gratitude, Dov...
  • Great post Dov! I agree with you! MLK did a lot for everyone.
    We are all the same and that was the message.... He was an amazing person and inspiration! Your a great writer btw! Keep it up!

    David
  • Hey David,
    Thank you for your kind words, sincerely appreciated.
    Yes, the easiest thing in the world is to look for how we are all different, however, what will shift the world is for us to look for how we are all similar.

    With gratitude, Dov...
  • timgraham
    Dr. Martin Luther Kings "I have a dream speech" has affected people from all over the world just look how it has inspired you Dov and Renuka. I am so grateful and so are many of your students from around the world who have been raising there consciousness with your tutelage, because you Dov,have a dream thank you Dr. King
  • Hey Tim,

    I believe you are correct, that speech has touch the hearts, minds and souls of millions of people in ways most of them will never know.

    Thank you Tim for your acknowledgment of what it is we do. It is my belief that we must all be willing to reach for a dream that's bigger than who we are or how long we are here.

    With gratitude, Dov...
  • Thank you for leaving your feedback. I agree with you Jamiluk, George, & Ashraf. It would be wonderful to have a day that celebrated people such as Dr King & Gandhi, not just in the US but throughout the world, because their impact was both global and timeless.

    With gratitude, Dov...
  • George
    Too often we see Martin Luther King's message as only for the americans, and it had the greatest relevance to the people of that nation at the time. Perhaps it was only later that we realised that his speeches had greater implications in the world as a whole. I have to agree that he was, and still is an inspiration to us all, even in Australia.
  • jamiluk
    Very poignant and touching comments about a truly inspirational and magnificent human being.
    His message was timeless and I am humbled by his words and all that he stood for. Thanks Dov for the reminder, and it is such a shame that Martin Luther King day is not globally acknowledged as a holiday for people all over the world in all nations as a remembrance of him and all that he stood for and a reminder that we are indeed all one!
  • A GREAT MAN....ALL THE YEARS....THE LEADER OF HUMAN RIGHTS ALL OVER THE WORLD....
  • A GREAT MAN..The LEADER OF HUMAN RIGHTS all over the WORLD....KEEPING the DREAMS ALWAYS ALIVE............
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