Dream Within a Dream

"Take this kiss upon the brow!

And, in parting from you now,

Thus much let me avow

- You are not wrong who deem,

That my days have been a dream;

Yet if hope has flown away

In a night, or in a day,

In a vision, or in none,

Is it therefore the less gone?

All that we see or seem

Is but a dream within a dream."

Edgar Allan Poe
(1809-1849)

I think Edgar Allen Poe is one of time's greatest masters of the English Language. Shakespeare may have used the greatest number of words in his collection of work (24,000 different ones), but Poe used words as wonderfully as anyone.

I have read his stories and poems to my children since they were very young. While Brosden would run away after awhile, Bella and I would sit mesmerized in the flow of elocution and expressiveness of this silver-tongued poet.

One happy memory is when all five children were living under the same roof. I led them completely around our big home chanting and dancing to "The Bells", over and over, until we reached a crescendo of shouts and roaring laughter that left us out of breath and clutching our stomachs on the floor (I was especially out of breath and thinking "Man, this fathering thing is hard work").

In his short but meaningful life, Edgar Allen Poe left an indelible mark in the history of literature. I truly hope we all develop the gifts inside us. And do so to the point that in giving our gifts we make the world such a richer place we continue to live long after our bodies do not. This takes living fearlessly and freely, which is hard for most people to do. And hence most people DIE WITH their greatest gifts undeveloped inside of them and DIE WITHOUT being anywhere near as happy as they could have been.

Poe wrote "The Bells" the year he turned 40, the last year of his life. I'm turning 40 in May. Uh-oh! I don't have time to waste on worries, fear, doubt and distractions. No way! I want to burn bright while I still have light (***see "IF I WERE TO DIE TONIGHT").

Hold on...what's a bird doing at my window at 2 am? He's saying something.....Never..what?.... Never..mind? ...Never....more? Nevermore?....Now what does that mean?.......Strange black bird...

**P.S. We can start enriching the world by enriching ourselves and our children. We are the parents and we are in control of our homes. Turn off the Dora, Disney and music channels (unless it's a really good song that makes you dance. Dancing is good. "Desire" by Gene Loves Jezebel just came on. I'll be right back. Click the link above then the title "Desire" to hear the song).

And when the dancing is done, click on "The Raven", and get lost together in a supernatural atmosphere of rhyming musicality about a man's undying love. And if you have undying love for someone, take them on a picnic, a walk in the woods, or on the back of your motorcycle, and read this and other stories together. Live fully, passionately and freely. How? Live your dreams within the breathes of your life, never settling for less, being unafraid of getting hurt, being judged or even misinterpreted. LIVE AS IF YOU WERE ACTUALLY ALIVE! (***see "I'M NOT THE MAN YOU SEE")

"... we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number, really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, some afternoon that's so deeply a part of your being that you can't even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four or five times more. perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seems limitless." - Paul Bowles

Live Out Loud! Completely!

Every morning as I come down my stairs I stop to say hello to James Dean. Although now forever silent, he looks at me from my wall and heralds me with his legacy:

Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today.

This does more for me than the cup of coffee I'm on my way to get. To me the power to dream comes from the power to love; to believe in what isn't yet there, and love it into existence. This has got to be the greatest and most satisfying power in the universe, more than money or fame or perceived "success". Love is what makes all dreams possible, so I've changed this slighty to:

Love as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today.

Maybe it's because of this passion I live with. And maybe it's because I've come close to meeting my maker more than once. But I hear these words James and I silently trade back and forth on the darkened stairs of the early morning. As I look at this picture of someone who lived before he died, I promise myself that no matter what, today I WILL "Live Out Loud! Completely!"

Today, I love myself enough to take complete control of how I feel and what I think. Although I look forward to falling in love again someday, I know I complete myself now and am not codependent on anyone else to make me feel good. Knowing this, I look forward to my future and create it by passionately pursuing my greatest dreams with complete confidence.

My family and friends know how much I completely love and appreciate them as I take the time to let them know. My children know how completely special they are as I play with, read to, and say prayers to them at night. During the day I smile at children and strangers, open doors for ladies, help someone in need and do the little things that brighten someone's day. I don't wait till tomorrow to do any of this because I am too busy making money, trying to get ahead or too stressed out.

This day is the only day I am guaranteed to have. Let me live completely out loud, with no regrets for the things I wish I would have done and wish I would have said, especially to those I love.

This day I completely love as if I'll live forever, and completely live as if I'll die today. Chances are, I'll live a long and healthy life, and die smiling having completely used up all my love, laughs, talents, and time...completely.

This is my son living out loud and living completely!.

If I Were To Die Tonight

I recently had an accident on my motorcycle. After five days of toughing it out, I finally let a friend talk me into going to the doctor. The damage was worse than I thought, much worse, and much worse than I let on. A severe concussion, broken and chipped bones and left to think in the x-ray room. These are the thoughts I thunk while thinking about my thoughts.

"If I were to die tonight,
I hope I left the world more bright.

I hope I smiled at a child.
I hope my work was truly worthwhile.

Is the world better because of me?
In my own potential did I see?

By just holding my lover's hand could amazing love I make?
Could I survive severe heartbreak?

When I saw wrong did I do right?
To have the courage not to run but to fight?

Did I laugh and cry with friends?
Did I live, up to the very end?

If I were to die tonight.....
did I burn bright and for my children leave light?"

- Adam Stuart