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For some time I have had a practice to read a selection from the writings of Howard Thurman during my morning devotional time. Today's reading seemed appropriate in light of the fact that I successfully defended my thesis yesterday. Thurman was reflecting on a line from an old Hindu poem: "Thou hast to churn the milk, O Disciple, if thou desirest to taste the butter." (Deep is the Hunger, Harper, reprint, 1990, pg. 27) How true. It is not good enough to think to yourself that churned milk becomes butter. If you want that milk to become butter, you have to churn it. Theory must become praxis to enjoy the fruits.
Well, I have my milk (my thesis) in the butter churn. It would be an absolute shame if that milk just sits there without me churning it (put my ideas and proposals into practice). If I choose to allow this work to just sit there and don't work with it, well, you can imagine what would happen if milk just sat in the butter churn but no churning took place. The milk won't become butter all by itself. It would make quite a stench.
I am very excited that I was able to get my thesis finished. I am proud of it. And I am convinced that the ideas I start working out can have a positive impact on the world. But that won't happen if I sit that thesis in the cloud and do nothing with it. So, here's hoping that I will not move on, but let this thesis be the beginning of the rest of my life's work.
I've got a few minor edits to do, and then it will be ready for public consumption. I will probably post a link on my blog so that you can access my thesis if you wish to read it.
