Don't Let Your Dreams Die with You

A Seed is Planted

Ten years ago, in early 2012, I was driving to work.

In the past year, I had been given a promotion which doubled my salary, and left my home country of Antigua and Barbuda.

I was managing a local telecommunications company on the island of St. Lucia.

Depending on traffic, I had about a forty-minute commute to and from work from the northern tip of the island in Cap Estate to the capital, Castries.

I was listening to an audio book which included a speech by the dynamic and inspiring, Les Brown.

During this speech, I was captivated by a quote which he credited to Dr. Howard Thurman.

The quote fascinated me.

It compelled me to find out more about Dr. Thurman, his life and his legacy.

More importantly, the quote made me want to explore how to express the gifts I had inside.

Thurman's quote planted a seed inside me that finally started germinating five years later.

Because of that quote, I was able to take a chance on love and discover the artistic talents that had lain dormant within me for twenty five years.

Howard Thurman

Dr. Thurman was a remarkable man: an author, civil rights leader, educator, philosopher,?scholar, theologian and mystic.

Some say, that if there had not been a Howard Thurman, there would not have been a Martin Luther King Jr as we know him.

Born in segregated Florida in 1899, Howard Thurman was raised by his once enslaved grandmother.

He rose from his upbringing in the “dirty south” to graduate from Morehouse College as valedictorian in 1923.

He quickly went on to further his theological studies, and was ordained as a minister.

Howard Thurman then pastored a Baptist Church and received the prestigious joint appointment as Professor of Religion and Director of Religious Life at Morehouse and Spelman colleges in Atlanta, Georgia.

He then went on to pursue a Doctorate in Philosophy, and became the first black Dean at Boston University and then the first Dean of Rankin Chapel at Howard University in the District of Columbia.

Throughout his career, Dr. Howard Thurman lead Christian missions and traveled widely.

In 1936, he led a “Negro Delegation of Friendship” to South Asia.

There he conferred with the the pre-eminent Indian leader, Mohandas Gandhi.

Thurman said that in his meeting with Gandhi, the Mahatma regretted not having made nonviolence more visible worldwide.

Gandhi further expressed his wish that the message of non-violence be sent to the world by African-Americans, and suggested some black man would succeed in making this mandate more widely known.

Thurman, Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.

Howard Thurman’s ideological vision was forever broadened by his meeting with Gandhi.

In 1944, he co-founded the first racially integrated, intercultural church in the United States.

The Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco, California was also the first inter-racially copastored church in America.

His 1949 book, ‘Jesus and the Disinherited’, presents the basic goal of Jesus’ life as helping the oppressed to change from within, to be empowered to surmount persecution by being rooted in a “deep river of faith”.

This seminal work, laid the principle foundations for the nonviolent civil rights movement.

According to Thurman, the emotions of deception and hatred isolate blacks and whites causing them to only see each other in stereotypes and prohibiting a peaceful end to racial bigotry.

Dr. Thurman had a profound spiritual impact on Martin Luther King Jr.

Thurman was a a former classmate of Dr. King’s father.

Dr. Thurman Thurman was a mentor to King Jr., and often met with him, while he was at a student at Boston University.

Dr. King was later known to carry Howard Thurman’s book with him at civil rights rallies, reading quietly in the moments before they began.

Dr. Walter Fluker said of Thurman’s influence:

“leaders like King do not arise out of a historical vacuum. There are movements and there are personalities who actually sow the seeds. Thurman is one of those persons who sowed the seed.”

Thurman wrote hundreds of sermons and articles and over 20 books about the link between spiritual renewal and social change.

He was passionate about the unity of all creation, the building of community and the search for common ground.

Ebony magazine called Thurman one of the 50 most important figures in African-American history.

In 1953 Life Magazine lauded him as one of the twelve most important religious leaders in the United States.

The Quote that Changed My Life:

"The ideal situation for a man or woman to die is to have family members standing with them as they cross over.

"But imagine, if you will, being on your death-bed, and standing around your bed are the ghosts of the ideas, the abilities, the talents, the gifts, the dreams given to you by life.

"That you, for whatever reason, never pursued those dreams. You never did anything with those ideas. You never used those talents.

"You never used those gifts.

"You never took advantage of those opportunities.

"And there they are, standing around your bed, looking at you before you take your last dying breath, looking at you with angry eyes saying, “We came to you, and?only you could have given us life and now we must die with you forever.”

Don’t Let Your Dreams Die with You

If you died today, what dreams would die with you? What abilities would die with you unexpressed? What talents would pass away? What gifts would be buried forever?

After only finishing the seventh grade, Howard Thurman’s family scraped together all they had to send him away to high school.

The fare turned out to be higher than anticipated.

He was left at the station penniless and crying.

Then a stranger walked up and paid his ticket.

Although he never discovered the man’s identity, Howard Thurman, dedicated his autobiography “to the stranger in the railroad station in Daytona Beach who restored my broken dream sixty-five years ago.”

Would there have been a Dr. Howard Thurman without this kind stranger?

Could this stranger have known the generations that would be touched and grateful for his indirect impact on one of the greatest civil rights leaders of all time?

Without this small gesture that touched the life of Howard Thurman, would Dr. King ever have spoken the words “I have a dream”?

Move from Surviving to Thriving!

• You will never know the full reach of even the small good that you do in life.?
• Don’t let your potential remain unrealized.
• Never allow fear or criticism to hold you back from achieving your dreams.
• Don’t allow procrastination or low self-esteem to prevent you from becoming the person you are truly meant to be.
• You are irreplaceable.
• There are boundless possibilities within you.
• There is limitless potential in you.
• There is infinite good within you.
• Don’t deprive the world of the unique purpose that lies within you.
• Don’t let the amazing gifts that have been given to you die with you unfulfilled.

About the author - Joya Cousin

I was born in Antigua and Barbuda in the Caribbean.

I went from SURVIVING a lackluster performance through High School and University to STRIVING with the best players through a twenty year career with the Big Four accounting firms, exclusive luxury resorts, and powerhouse telecommunications companies.

I am finally THRIVING after leaving it all behind for love to marry my soul mate and discovering my true calling as a Portrait Painter in France.

I now paint portraits full-time helping international clients tell their love stories on canvas.

I'm passionate not only about art but about personal growth. Join me on my journey!