Cup Match and my dreams for a better future

Cup Match is upon us and I am excited.

It’s all about red and blue and blue and blue — people and players coming together, enjoying the match, enjoying each other, eating the food, relaxing — four days!

It’s all about emancipation — the freedom to use our freedom to come together on one field, under one umbrella for fun, friendship and competition; the beautiful legacy of a few strong people who fought for all of us.

So let’s take these next days to be thankful for what we have, to share what we can with each other, to extend a hand to neighbours and acquaintances, reaching out in the spirit that gave rise to Cup Match.

And let’s take time to consider where we are headed.

So many want a better life. Religion speaks of a better day where pain no longer exists and the universe is our home. Business wants bigger profits for bigger growth and finer things. And popular culture lures our fantasies with stars and happy endings.

We all want a better tomorrow, but the question is: How do we get there? 

I believe the key lies in each of us. It’s got to be you believing in yourself, grasping your opportunities, pursuing your goals, living your life; merging your dreams with reality.

You can best help yourself by being your own reality check, your own monitor, with an active conscience, asking yourself: Is what I am doing taking me there or taking me in the wrong direction? When it comes to you, you are always the first person on the scene. The key is to stop before you act, asking yourself: Is this the right thing to do? Is this taking me in the right direction?

These questions give you a choice, and the answers tell you who you are, your sense of responsibility and your direction.

It is on such answers that you build your life and it is on such answers that Bermuda builds its life with a sense of collective responsibility and progress, or not. It all starts within each of us, keeping an eye on who we are.

Often, the direction we take reflects the discipline we have. Without discipline, we are weakened and our world becomes more uncertain, more unsafe and more anxious.

I believe the miracle of change lies within each of us. Those who live to make their dreams a reality know that the change — the difference! — lies within their hearts and in the knowledge that what happens must happen first in them and then through them to others.

Out of this realization, progress is born and communities become strong.

My hopes and dreams for this great Island lie within each of you. Bermuda can only get better if we get better — all of us; keeping our dreams alive through discipline, hard work, a strong moral compass and never-ending compassion for all who come our way.

On this Cup Match, let’s keep our dreams alive. Live by them, live for them, doing the right thing. A better Bermuda is about you. n

Craig Cannonier is the Premier of Bermuda.