The Power of a Dreamer: The Greatest Showman and the Divine Dream
"Ladies and gents, this is the moment you've waited for
Been searching in the dark, your sweat soaking through the floor
And buried in your bones there's an ache that you can't ignore,
taking your breath, stealing your mind...."
While many people complained about the inaccuracy of The Greatest Showman, I was blown away by the deep, beautiful truths hidden in this achingly beautiful movie. I have seen it five times in theaters so far, and each time, I have taken something new away from it.
And each time I see it, I'm again reminded of - and humbled by - the power of a Dream and the liberation a Dreamer gives the world. I'm reminded, in fact, of the Beauty of the Christ, of that desire of Christ's heart: "I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly." (John 10:10)
Dreams Can Change the World - of Individuals and Groups
"Every night I lie in bed
The brightest colors fill my head.
A million dreams are keeping me awake.
I think of what the world could be,
A vision of the one I see.
A million dreams is all it's gonna take
A million dreams for the world we're gonna make."
No matter where you are in life - rich, poor, accomplished or barely keeping ahead of the curve balls of life - a dream can take root in your heart. Barnum was a poor boy who buried his father very young. Charity was a rich girl who had everything handed to her, but her heart was drawn to the quirky boy who made her smile, made her dream. And even though life and station tried to keep them apart, they were tied together by this Dream. He scrounged a living on the streets and worked jobs he hated to keep himself alive and to scrape enough together to offer her a chance to come with him. Her family didn't approve of a low class boy being near their daughter. They wanted a secure life for her, a life of money, status, comfort and propriety. But Charity wanted more -- she wanted the Magic, the life that only a Dreamer could give her.
"However big, however small,
Let me be part of it all,
Share your dreams with me.
You may be right, you may be wrong,
but say that you'll bring me along
to the world you see.
To the world I close my eyes to see."
She had to leave her family entirely behind, cling to Barnum and Barnum alone. None of the girls she grew up with, none of her family, no one understood her, no one kept in touch with her. She gave up everything because she was in love with Him and His Dream. The utter abandonment in her as she dances with him is breathtaking. The complete trust she gives him is humbling. She believed in him, and she was willing to accept the change in life that would mean. And it took time, trial and error, and lots and lots of struggle. It took sacrifice and seeing that what the world though was successful wasn't what their path held. It took hitting rock bottom and getting inspiration from the darkest times for Barnum to find what his vocation was. He found the rejected in society and put them on stage with him.
"No more living in those shadows,
You and me, we know how that goes.
Cause once you see it,
Oh you'll never, never be the same!
We'll be the light that's shining
Bottle up and keep on trying.
You can prove there's more to you,
You cannot be afraid."
He took the too tall, the too fat, the too pale, the too dark, the too hairy, the too different and said "You may not know it yet, but they are going to love you." He gave them the opportunity to show their faces and revel in their differences.
A Dreamer's Dream Liberates Others
But it wasn't just the outcasts he reached for. Philip was a good-looking, young, successful man. He had money from his family, success he built for himself, and a widely growing fame that was launching him into a new level of respect in society. He was also drowning all of this in copious amounts of alcohol because he found his world suffocating -- but it was everything he was supposed to want. Barnum recognized this longing for something more than "propriety" in this young man, and he offers him a position with him.
"You can run with me and I can cut you free,
Out of the treachery and walls you keep in.
So trade that typical for something colorful.
And if it's crazy, live a little crazy.
You can play it sensible, a king of conventional
Or you can risk it all and see."
And, like all of us when Christ first approaches us, Philip definitely didn't want to hear a thing Barnum was offering.
"Thanks but no, I think I'm good to go.
'Cause I quite enjoy the life you say I'm trapped in....
Don't you know that I'm okay with this uptown part I get to play....
Ain't in a cage, so I don't need to take the key."
But when he was offered the chance to dream, the chance to live a life not constrained by society's rules, he found he couldn't resist the chance to experience a life of freedom -- true freedom. And when he joins Barnum, he finds the beauty of the crazy. He finds that he doesn't want to live constrained by what society says is okay. He wants to love the girl who is the wrong color, the wrong station, and does the wrong kind of work. He finds a family that conspires with him, tackles him in hugs, and that he is willing to accept the judgement of society for. And this family launches him to new heights: He meets the queen, takes center stage, and finds a love he's willing to risk his literal life for.
The Dreamer's Dream is Infectious
This radical freedom he found allows him to find joy, and allows him to offer it to another, bound by fear of society. Ann has been shunned and scorned her whole life, and she is afraid to embrace the love offered her by this beautiful man who appeared. There's no reason for him to want her, not for real. She doubts that she is worthy of the sacrifice it will require of him. She doubts she is able to deal with the scorn from society. She is too afraid to accept the gift until she sees the depth of his passion. It took a look at the death he was willing to suffer before she understood that he wasn't going to flake on her. He wasn't kidding about the depth of his affection. It's as she's holding his bandaged hand and looking at the wounds on his sleeping body that she accepts that she would be so foolish to turn aside this love, regardless of the obstacles.
"Our own mothers were ashamed of us. But you? You gave us a family."
Barnum faced terrible riots, horrible press, and had to watch his little girls be shunned because of the work he did. But his believing in his dream allowed so many more to find theirs. His passion, his sacrifice, and his ridiculous shenanigans allowed not just those who joined his circus to be free, he also gave hope to the little black boy in the crowd, joy to the people who came to his shows, and broke barriers that had been in place long before.
"When I first met you, I had an inheritance, claim, an invitation to every part in town. And now, thanks to you, all that's gone. All that's left is friendship, love, and a work that I adore. You brought joy into my life."
If you are going to dream, that Dream is going to radically change your world. It may cost you everything you know. But that's okay.
"Cause everything you want is right in front of you, and you see the impossible is coming true. And the walls can't stop us now!"
The Dream is Real - and Waiting for You
God is the Great Dreamer. He dreamed us into existence, and into each of us places a little bit of His Dreamer's spirit. For those of us who are Dreamers, we have to accept the call and life of a Dreamer. "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:4). I used to think that meant that God would give me anything I wanted if I said I loved Him. Now? Now I think it's so much deeper than that. He has planted desires deep in our hearts, and when we look at Him, we find the Dreams and Desires of our hearts reflecting back into us. Charity didn't "get everything she wanted" in Barnum. She didn't care if they were rich, poor, respected or scorned. She only wanted to be with Him. Her desire was her Love and the Dream He held.
And that willingness for them both to dream changed not just their worlds, but the worlds of so many. How many can your dreams touch?
"They can say they can say it all sounds crazy.
They can say. they can say I've lost my mind.
I don't care, I don't care if they call me crazy,
We can live in a world that we design."
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