Blog a la Cart

It’s tempting on MLK day to reference snippets from the “I have a dream” speech, to grab sound bytes from King’s most inspirational moments and plaster them in our Twitter streams and Facebook walls.

But today I went to a lecture about Dr. King. A lecture that focused on a man who was not a glorified figure of hope and inspiration, but a man who pushed boundaries, scared the leaders of our society by challenging the status quo, and a man who shook the core of this country so much that he was assassinated for his beliefs.

A man who was considered dangerous. An enemy of the state.

And so today, I want to pull words from Dr. King that are less inspirational and more grounded in action:

Let us be dissatisfied.

As today’s lecture reminded me, the most powerful learning comes when we step outside our comfort zones. The best piece of advice I received from a teacher when I graduated from high school was this:

“Make yourself uncomfortable. That’s where the learning really happens.”

And I’ve treasured that advice ever since I first saw it make a concrete impact on my life and the person I am today.

And so, remember that change does not come from the content. Conflict and tension and dissatisfaction invoke change. We live in a society that wants to fix discomfort instead of allowing it to fuel actions. We want to be safe.

But instead, let’s be uncomfortable.

Let us be dissatisfied.