The Art of the Possible – April 02, 2000
Every great effort is fueled by a compelling vision. Sculptors see potential in a stone; builders begin with an edifice in mind; students see their names on a diploma; and parents nurture greatness in the most ordinary child. For millennia, the art of the possible has built cities, technologies, and people. It’s given hope to the discouraged and strength to the downtrodden. The Biblical wisdom of centuries ago rings true today. “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”1 When hopes are dashed and dreams discarded, in some measure we suffer a small death. But when we have vision, we’re filled with life.
Focusing on positive potential is a skill that each of us can learn and master. One man remembers being taught in his youth, “Cynics do not contribute, skeptics do not create, doubters do not achieve.”2 People with vision aren’t cynical, skeptical, or doubtful. They believe and dream—and they make something of their dreams. They work diligently toward what can be—not settling for what is.
Think of the vision of people close to home: the teacher who goes early and stays late to help a struggling student; the neighbor who volunteers and makes the community a better place; the small child who prays wholeheartedly and knows that everything will be all right; the parent who doesn’t give up, even when others have stopped trying. All these, and countless more, know that seeds of hope and potential can be sown each new day in every individual.
President Gordon B. Hinckley has said: “Great buildings were never constructed on uncertain foundations. Great causes were never brought to success by vacillating leaders. Faith has always been, and always must be, at the root of any meaningful . . . endeavor.”3
Vision and faith go hand in hand. The Lord taught, “All things are possible to him that believeth.”4 When we have the humility to look to Him and live, we’re blessed with a belief in others and in life; we recognize humanity’s potential for greatness; and we see beyond the here and now. With faith, we cultivate the art of the possible.
Program #3685
1. Proverbs 29:18.
2. Gordon B. Hinckley, Standing for Something (New York: Random House, 2000), 101.
3. Standing for Something, 113, 114.
4. Mark 9:23.