Deserve your dream.

Hear, O dreamer upon the path, the fiery words of Octavio Paz, poet of Mexico and seer of the human soul: “Deserve your dream.” In these few syllables lies a command as sharp as a sword and as tender as a prayer. For every heart is filled with visions, with longings that stretch beyond the horizon. Yet dreams are not given as idle ornaments—they are entrusted as sacred seeds, and one must prove worthy of their flowering. To dream is easy; to deserve the dream is the true labor of a lifetime.

To deserve your dream is to align your actions with your vision. It is to walk in discipline, in truth, and in sacrifice, so that the dream does not remain a phantom of the night but becomes flesh in the daylight of the world. Many crave the fruits of greatness, but few till the soil, plant the seed, and water it with sweat. A dream without effort is a mirage; but a dream pursued with integrity becomes a destiny fulfilled. Paz, who himself bore the dream of unity, freedom, and the renewal of language, knew that no poet can write of liberty unless he first lives as a servant of truth.

Behold the story of Martin Luther King, Jr. He spoke to the multitudes, declaring, “I have a dream.” Yet he did not merely dream—he labored, suffered, and endured for that vision. He faced prison, threats, and the weight of hatred, yet he answered each trial with courage and love. In this way, he deserved his dream, and though he did not live to see its full flowering, the world was forever changed by the worthiness with which he bore it. His life is proof that dreams demand not only hope, but the payment of blood, sweat, and faith.

There is danger in dreaming without deserving. Many desire wealth without work, love without sacrifice, wisdom without study. Such dreams rot into delusions, and the dreamer becomes a captive of envy and despair. But the one who labors to be worthy, who fashions their soul in humility and perseverance, finds that the dream becomes not only attainable, but also a blessing. For to receive a dream without merit is to squander it; but to earn it is to honor it.

O listener, understand this: your dreams are not idle whims, but holy invitations. If you dream of creating beauty, then discipline your hands and mind until they are fit instruments. If you dream of leadership, then first learn to serve with humility. If you dream of love, then purify your heart so that it gives as much as it longs to receive. Every dream has a cost, and that cost is the transformation of your very self into one who is worthy to hold it.

Therefore, take this charge into your daily life: rise each morning not only to dream, but to deserve. Begin with small acts of discipline—study when weary, speak truth when tempted to lie, show kindness when anger beckons. Each act chisels your soul into the form required by your vision. Let your dream be your guiding star, but let your worthiness be the wings that carry you to it.

Thus, the teaching of Paz shines eternal: “Deserve your dream.” For dreams are not idle fancies cast upon the wind—they are promises written upon the soul. To deserve them is to honor your purpose, to shape your life into the vessel that can contain their fire. And when at last you hold your dream, you will know that it is not fortune that gave it, but your own labor, your own worthiness, your own faith made manifest. This is the path of the dreamer who becomes a doer, and the doer who becomes a legend.