Where Does It Begin?

A couple of friends suggested that the Mississippi River provides a pretty good metaphor for this project. I think the river also offers some lessons about dreams in general. So as we crank along together I’d like to share some observations about the river we’re following.

It’s interesting to look at the source of the river and realize that it isn’t a river…until it is. One moment it’s part of a swampy bog at the end of a lake, then suddenly it’s a river. The exact moment of transition isn’t all that clearly defined.

Of course we can go back—after the fact—and mark the spot where the dream supposedly began.

At the Mississippi headwaters, a neat rock wall clearly delineates where lake ands and river begins. You can stand at the EXACT spot where the river’s path begins. But of course that’s all made up.

The wall’s man-made. It’s a great place to take cheesy tourist photos. But the river doesn’t naturally begin like that.

The river’s beginning is messy and uncertain. That’s how most dreams begin.

We discourage other dreamers when we pretend that our dreams began with trumpets and scrolls. We act like God dropped an invitation on our
desk, all neatly wrapped in a bow.

Maybe that’s how it happens for you. But for me, this dream didn’t appear on a stone tablet. It flickered, nearly unrecognizable, for years. And when it finally became a full-fledged dream, people asked where it originated.

I could invent a neat starting point, an artificial wall dividing not-dream from dream. But that’s not how it happened.

It wasn’t a dream … and then it was.

Please leave a comment here.

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Speaking events yesterday were incredible. College students at North Central University, little ones at Hillcrest school. Thought you’d enjoy seeing what went on.

Today we’re back on the road…we hope. Forecast calls for rain and strong wind. Oh well–off to Red Wing.

Where’s Rich? Today This Week

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