We all want our lives to be useful and meaningful. The aspiration to transform suffering--our own, each other's, and the earth's--can give us the energy we need to continue on a wholesome path. In How to Dream, Thich Nhat Hanh explains how to let our deep desire nourish us and, in turn, how to keep that desire alive.

If our aspiration is lost, if it's depleted, if we've slowly let it go, we must rekindle it. Whatever our role in society--activist, businessperson, teacher, parent, or politician--we can live into our deep aspiration and change the direction of civilization. And together, as a community with a collective aspiration, we have the energy to realize our dream.