Will you dream?

What do you believe in? The possible? The impossible?

To achieve what is possible, we must attempt the impossible.
To be as much as we can be, we must dream of being more.

Such simple sentences with so much insight.

In Barack Obama I see a man with tremendous vision. A man who will try to do things differently to achieve different results. Someone willing to take a risk, someone willing to attempt the impossible. Someone, too, who refuses to believe that the current reality is the forever reality.

This type of mindset is revolutionary, and truly is not common in our world today. So many of us like to diagnose problems, but so few are willing to try something new. Cynicism, resignation, low self-esteem characterize most of us in worlds and situations where we are not happy. Is it really just the way it is? Is it really just like that because that’s how God ordained it? Do we really believe we have some power over our own lives? Do we believe through our words and actions we can influence others? Of course we do! Those are character traits of Americans. We are the “can do” people. The world over admires us because we never let an obstacle stop us. We refuse to say no or just okay. We demand action, we invent our way out of deadends.

The same sense and sentiments of crisis, hard times, depression, helplessness, useless and corrupt politics that pervade the U.S. at this time, are prevalent here in Senegal. A big difference is that they have few identified, public leaders who speak differently, who are presenting a different reality. I believe we were in a similar situation in the U.S. until Obama’s ascent. I pronounce these words not as a blind supporter, but someone who has read his political philosophy and now is reading his autobiography written about ten years ago. The man is willing to do, and has done, extensive academic and real-life street research to get into the minds of people to understand both their frustrations and their ambitions, their limitations and their potential. In Senegal, I have the good fortune of sharing with you that I believe my Wolof teacher, Nene Gueye from Thies, is cut from the same cloth. Yesterday, I made my first trip to her home, about two hours outside of Dakar, and was struck by her sincerity in wanting to change Senegal for the better. Realistic, not naive, she wants to form a new political movement where truth, transperency, and accountability reign. She believes it will take the whole population to affect such change, so she’s on a mission to change fixed, outdated, unproductive mindsets in Thies. It is a mammoth mission. I applaud her for her dedication. Nene is running for the equivalent of County Commissioner and City Council President.

In true Senegalese hospitable form, she welcomed me and the other two Fulbright teachers into her home and made us a phenomenal meal, before having to leave for Dakar for a meeting with the president of her political party. We, people in her life, came first. Sincerity and hospitality, no strings attached, define her. She may even have been late to the meeting which may not have bode well, but in the end, as she said, it’s not how high you go, it’s how you treat your fellow human being. Nene is on the eve of elections, Obama is preparing to take over the reigns in the U.S., I am reading his life and philosophy.
The convergence of powerful ideas and people.
The timing of timing.
It's our turn, move outside the box!