Dare to Dream with Open Eyes

Having Visionary Resolve and the Courage to Act

By George Belsky, Blue Courage/Purple Resolve Master Educator

“All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake up in the day to find it was vanity, but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.”
― T.E. Lawrence, Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph

Today, August 16^th, is Thomas Edward Lawrence’s birthday. He preferred to go by his initials, T.E., and is better known to the world as Lawrence of Arabia. His exploits and accomplishments in the Middle Eastern theater of World War I, leading an Arab guerrilla army, are the stuff of legend.  He bucked the system and fought the war on his terms.  He was extremely successful on the battlefield and in alienating himself from many of his peers and superiors by “going native.” The 1962 epic movie, Lawrence of Arabia (starring Peter O’Toole) not only won the Oscar for Best Picture that year but is considered one of the greatest films ever made. Lawrence was an iconic figure in life and remains one in death.  During the war he rose from lieutenant to lieutenant colonel in 4 years, earning the Order of the Bath and the Distinguished Service Order (both of which he politely refused to accept from King George V).  His memoir of his wartime service, Seven Pillars of Wisdom, has been on numerous military reading lists for decades.

I first read Seven Pillars in a class I had on the History of Revolutionary Warfare at West Point in the early 1980's.  I found this quote thought provoking. How many dreams have I had that never went further than a vague recollection over coffee in the morning or sharing with someone, “I had a really interesting dream last night”? Lawrence reminds us that most of us dream that way. But there are those among us, visionaries and forward thinkers, who don’t just dream at night but during the day, and those are the ones that act on their dreams and make great discoveries.

The beauty of Lawrence’s words is that they can apply to each of us. Every worthwhile achievement, development, movement, discovery, or invention began with someone dreaming with open eyes. They then found the physical, moral, and intellectual courage to forge that dream into reality for themselves and for others.

I believe the Blue Courage “How” (“We shape a Guardian’s heart and mind by meeting people where they are with love and no judgment! We courageously do the right thing while always exploring what is possible”) embodies Lawrence’s quote. There is something mythical about dangerous dreamers who challenge the status quo and forge ahead into a visionary future.

Happy Birthday and thank you, T.E. Lawrence