The Risk of Reach

There is a picture of my dad just across the room. He was in his 30s.
It is a serious picture...not quite a smile rests on his face.
But in his eyes there is a bright, hopeful glint of a visionary man.
A man with deep beliefs...a man of courage.
He seems to look into me sometimes.
When I dream...
When I struggle...
When I hope for more...
When I pray...
When I am deeply touched...
He seems to be quietly whispering, "I know."

Among his treasures was a book of Peter Marshall's sermons, the famed Scottish minister with a vibrant message from another time. At one time he was the Chaplain of the U.S. Senate. I kept this book and today, I opened it to The Risk of Reach. Interestingly, it speaks about one's purpose. Hmmmm! Timely for us all. These were a few gems that seemed to jump out at me.

The Risk of Reach
"You were put here for a purpose, and that purpose is not related to superficial pleasures.

The time for drifting
or sleeping
or wishful thinking
or daydreaming is over.
The state of our world today make that a very dangerous pastime.

This generation and all of you who are sensitive to what is going on around you,
are called to a supreme adventure.
There is a great stirring in society.
The upheavals of life and the revolutions of multitudes across the world in desperate motion are indications that our world can never be the same again.

...So do not ever underestimate what you can do.
You have the courage to cast off your acrophobia and
to dream big and to aim high...

Give us the long view in our work and our world ...
for [the good of others] ...for the peace of the world."

What contribution will you make in thought, word and deed?

I leave you once again pondering this myself, promising to step forward today.

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
Founder, Global Dialogue Center
author, Putting Our Differences to Work

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Foreword by Joel A. Barker, futurist, filmmaker and author
Paradigms: The Business of Discovering the Future

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