"Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase"

Our national holiday, just passed, had to be fought for until it was finally won. The same is true for freedom, justice, and dignity for all beings. The fight for MLK Jr.’s national holiday was not born of hate; its fuel was love and respect and this needs to be our fuel as well because unlike hate, which depletes our energy and burns it out, love is an eternally renewable resource.

Let’s all work together, with joy and the deepest respect for life to continue to create a world of justice and dignity for all life, a world of love. We are the ones we have been waiting for.

And to quote Arundhati Roy, “Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day I can hear her breathing.”

So can I.

As we celebrate, commemorate, and continue to be inspired by the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., here are a few inspiring, instructional quotes that may be less familiar than “I have a dream…” though they are from the same speech (according to my local newspaper, the West Milford Messenger).

“The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood.

• "Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted."

• "Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase."

• "A nation or civilization that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on an installment plan."

• "Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it."