The Wisdom of ABBA and Walt Disney

The other night I went to see the musical “Mamma Mia” here in Hawaii. When the curtain raised, Sophie was there and she started with the song “I Have A Dream”. As the actress sang the first lines of the song, I got a big chill up my spine. I have known the song for a long time as I have several of ABBAs albums since back in high school. There was just something about the way that this was delivered that caught my full attention and I heard the words in a way that I have never heard them before.

The lyrics start:

I have a dream, a song to sing
To help me cope with anything
If you see the wonder of a fairytale
You can take the future even if you fail…

The first four words, “I have a dream” is also the first line of the famous Martin Luther King Jr speech. What I realized is that most people are walking around right now without a dream. Having a strong desire or ambition is what has helped American move forward. A dream is something that is off in the distance or nonexistent in many people’s lives. We are all hearing doom and gloom and pessimistic attitudes in the media all around us. The papers, people we talk to, radio and TV are so focused on the bad that it distracts us from our dreams.

“To help me cope with anything” is what that passion helps you do. At some time we’ve all experienced that point where we have that goal and it doesn’t matter what you have to go through. You wanted that car and were willing to work those extra hours to earn the money. You put in extra effort at the gym to drop those couple of pounds so you can look good for your upcoming date. You spent the night in the rain sleeping outside to be able to get tickets to that concert you oh so want to go to because the act is your most favoritest…evah! We’re willing to go through hell and high water for that meaningful goal.

Your dream is important! In our daily lives we have people that many times don’t mean to be nasty but unfortunately throw water on that burning passion that is your dream. On occasion you do have those people that are nasty and purposely throw the water to extinguish that desire that is heating up your life. America is a land that is known for dreams coming true. We have people going to extreme lengths to try to get America risking life and limb so they can have a dream come true. To the bucket brigade, say STOP!! While they may not see the value in it, “you can see the wonder of a fairytale”, you can believe in that fairytale that is your dream.

When the Wright brothers said that they were going to create a machine that would allow man to fly, people laughed. “If man was meant to fly, he would have been born with wings” was a common reply. But because they had a dream we have planes today that will take hundreds of people and in a few hours transport them half way around the globe. Did their first attempt work….no. Did they fail? Yes, on that attempt but they continued to pursue the end product. They took the future then though they failed. Even though certain attempts failed, their desire to create powered flight was stronger.

Why am I writing this? Because just as the lyrics encouraged me I want to encourage you to drown out the other voices and poke holes in the water buckets of those people trying to squelch your burning desires. “They” say it’s a bad economy but yet I’ve had friends be able to find good jobs and sell their house. My cousin sold her house after just being on the market for five days AND got her asking price which was market value. Work on your dream. Talk about your dream enthusiastically, "you have a song to sing." We need more people with dreams to be out there and encouraging others. America is great because her people are great and her people are great because they have dreams.

The song continues:

I have a dream, a fantasy
To help me through reality
And my destination makes it worth the while
Pushing through the darkness still another mile

As one of the most famous dreamers that ever existed, Walt Disney, once said, "...keep moving forward..."