Hope Mississippi
A bimonthly podcast educating Mississippians about the needs of fellow citizens, encouraging residents to work together to change the trajectory of our families and children, and sharing success stories.
Hope Mississippi
Finding Strength in Forgiveness with Dwight Owens
Dwight Owens shares a powerful message of hope and resilience, drawing from personal experiences of trauma and loss, while emphasizing the importance of collaboration in building a brighter future for Mississippi. The episode discusses overcoming adversity, the impact of education, the struggles faced by the disability community, and the transformative power of forgiveness.
• Importance of spreading hope in communities facing challenges
• Personal story of overcoming trauma and finding purpose
• The role of education in rising above poverty
• Addressing race relations through dialogue and understanding
• The need for collaboration and kindness in healing communities
• Experiences within the disability community and advocating for change
• The power of forgiveness and moving forward from pain
• Engaging with young people to inspire change and resilience
• Collective action as a means to uplift others and create lasting change
Read Dwight's book - Still Standing
Relevant Scripture - Corinthians 1:4
He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.
Hello everyone and welcome to Hope Mississippi. This is Dawn Beam, and this is a new podcast. This is actually the second podcast that we're releasing, and I cannot think of a better person to visit with this afternoon than Dwight Owens. Dwight, welcome.
Dwight Owens:I'm so happy to be here. Thank you for the invitation.
Dawn Beam:Well, dwight and I are both board members on Hope Rising Mississippi, which is a nonprofit that we established about three or four years ago with the intent of spreading hope throughout Mississippi, and, dwight, you're a part of that. What is your dream for Mississippi and, in particular, the nonprofit that we have?
Dwight Owens:particular the nonprofit that we have. My dream for Mississippi and for Hope Rise of Mississippi is, you know, just to create a state where every child feels loved and knows that they are valued and supported. You know, I envision a community that is kind, compassionate and inclusive. It is my hope that you know we can provide families with the tools they need to deal with trauma or adversity or to just help with challenges, and we all know that those are the things that lead to addiction, that lead to suicide, that lead to hopelessness. I just want a brighter future for all, because you and I know that, no matter who you are, pain doesn't discriminate.
Dwight Owens:Pain doesn't care what you look like. Pain doesn't care who your family is. Pain doesn't care about your political affiliation. Pain doesn't care about any of that. It doesn't care how well you dress. It doesn't care what church you go to. It doesn't care about your denomination. So pain affects us all and that's the one thing that we can, how we can relate to each other through that. But there is good news, because pain is real, but so is hope.
Dawn Beam:Absolutely. You know. I'm reminded, dwight, that I read your book Still Standing and you just have an incredible story and we're going to get to that. But every day, you encourage people to overcome pain and to excel despite disabilities. Tell us just a little bit about that, just a little bit about that Same thing as pain.
Dwight Owens:Disability doesn't discriminate either. It doesn't care about anything like that. This is the only group where anybody can join in just a second. So living in this wheelchair, you know, I just try to live by example. So I'm still standing because they say I have a disability. But those that know me know that there's no disinmobility. They don't just call me a guy in a wheelchair, they call me a beast. Being a beast means you know who you are. It means you know that you can overcome anything, and that's how I live my life.
Dawn Beam:You are such an inspiration, dwight. Thinking back over your book, can we talk a little bit about your childhood and what it was like you grew up in Laurel, is that right, or where did you grow up, collins, collins?
Dwight Owens:Okay, I grew up in very humbling beginnings. I can relate to a lot of people. Everything wasn't handed to me growing up. I didn't have a lot of things that other kids had, but we made. Do you know? I tell everybody we grew up poor. We were poor but didn't know it as kids. You don't know that you're poor. Looking back, we weren't just poor. We were poor because we couldn't afford the OOR. That's just what it was. But that's my childhood and everything changed drastically, you know, after my father was killed. I look back and I'm just grateful for that, because I became stronger, wiser and better because of my child.
Dawn Beam:Absolutely Well. You had a good mama, that's for sure, and I think about Mississippi and the challenges that we had. Race relations is a huge challenge and I don't want it to be difficult for you, but would you mind just telling us a little bit about the circumstances of your dad, Because we want to overcome those, and if anybody has a right not to like white folks, it's you. And yet you are the most loving, inclusive person I know, and so just tell us a little bit about that.
Dwight Owens:Sure, 1994, when I was in the sixth grade, I remember getting a phone call from my grandmother. My grandmother called to tell my siblings and I that my dad had just been hit by a car. Not think that it was anything serious. We got on the school bus, as usual in old Hot Coffee Mississippi. And we got on the school bus because usual in old Hot Coffee Mississippi. And we got on the school bus because my grandmother told us that he had been hit by a car. But he's okay. So somebody spread the wrong rumor. We got on the school bus as usual when we approached the center of Hot Coffee and as we approached McDonald's store at the time the only store in Hot Coffee we saw a crowd of people on the outside of the store. My mom was in that crowd. My mom came out of the crowd to try to stop the school bus and she successfully did so, and I remember that just as if it was yesterday. And as my mom stopped the school bus, we got off the school bus and we realized something that my dad hadn't been hit by a car. Someone put a gun to his head, pulled a trigger and threw him out on the highway.
Dwight Owens:As a sixth grader. I had to see that. As a sixth grader, I just witnessed my dad after he was murdered. As a sixth grader, I had to witness my mom have a nervous breakdown. As a sixth grader, I had to witness my sister have a nervous breakdown.
Dwight Owens:And all of that taught me something and I knew that if I could overcome that, I could overcome anything else life threw at me, because in my life, I understand that, no matter what your challenges are, we all have a choice. There's a choice. I could go through life feeling bitter, being angry at the world, being hateful or whatever the case may be, but what value does that bring to my life? That's a choice I could have made. I could use my life with addiction to drugs and alcohol. I could use that as a coping mechanism. That's a choice that I could have made. But I could also make the choice to be the man that my dad wanted me to be a voice of positivity, a beacon of hope, and that's what I chose to do. So my dad was, unfortunately was a victim of a hate crime, but looking back on that, you know.
Dwight Owens:As for race relations, I believe that we need to improve in that area and much of that is due to a lack of understanding and people not taking the opportunity to get to know people unlike them. But if we can just take the time, we can see the beauty in each other. We can see God's work, a work of art created in His image. We find that there is beauty in our images and our differences. I just feel so bad for people that have that type of hate in their hearts. I feel so bad because they're robbing themselves of so much joy. I heard a pastor say once at Christ Church in Laurel that people that have that type of hate in their heart they're not going to be happy in heaven or hell.
Dawn Beam:I got news for them. We're going to all be up there black, white, baptist, methodist, catholic, all of us because we're all children of the King. I think when we talk about collaborations and hope, my prayer is that we get so busy working together across racial lines, we forget what color we are. I think back to Katrina and man. It didn't matter, the ox was in the ditch. It didn't matter what color you were. We were all doing what it took to take care of one another, and that's God's plan.
Dwight Owens:Most definitely.
Dawn Beam:You are such an inspiration and I hope that this dialogue. You know sometimes we don't we're hesitant to talk about race relations, but we need to acknowledge we've come a long way but we're not where we need to be, and so I appreciate your openness to talking about that and I would encourage folks have somebody that's different from you over for dinner. We do that periodically and it's just so cool to have someone else of a different race. That's where those barriers come down is when we see that we can sit down and eat and fellowship together. It's just a wonderful blessing. I thank God for you and your friendship. It's been a huge blessing.
Dwight Owens:I thank God for you. Open dialogue is so important because it creates understanding, and that's huge in that subject. There.
Dawn Beam:Now we're talking about that and the trauma that you endured and that you overcame that. But let's talk a little bit about you. Went on and you played sports.
Dwight Owens:Oh, of course, In my family you have to play sports.
Dawn Beam:And so you played football, and you ended up graduating from high school.
Dwight Owens:Yes.
Dawn Beam:And then you went on to college, you went to USM.
Dwight Owens:I went to USM, to the top.
Dawn Beam:To the top and you trained to be a teacher.
Dwight Owens:Yes.
Dawn Beam:Okay, so tell us a little bit about that, because all of that involves helping young people, and oftentimes that's helping young people overcome their own challenges.
Dwight Owens:People and oftentimes that's helping young people overcome their own challenges. Yes, you know, I had my challenges after my dad died and I remember my grandmother used to tell me when I thought, when I was trying to go the wrong way, because she would tell us all the time that, despite what has happened, it was her son. She said, despite what has happened, you have to just move forward, be free and forgive and love everybody. Don't rob yourself of that. People can see the beauty within you by the way that you live your life. Your life is your personal message to the world and it's how you live it that's going to make the difference. But my dad would always tell us he wanted us to be better than he was. He would tell us that all of the time because we were poor and he was guilty, that he couldn't provide the type of life that he wanted. He was a putwood hauler. He hauled wood, but in order to do that back then you had to get somebody to let you do it on their land, and sometimes that created struggles. So he would always tell us that and I wanted to make him so proud. Oh, I was so determined more determined than ever after that happened and I just wanted to do something special.
Dwight Owens:So I went to Collins High School and I graduated near the top of my class because I wanted it. No one's going to tell me I was going to fail. I also excel in athletics, but when an injury stopped me from being a football player, I wanted to be on the next level. I was able to fall back on my academics so I went to the University of Southern Mississippi where I majored in education. After the University of Southern Mississippi I started teaching at Laurel High School. I taught there for a year. Then my dream job opened up being a football coach and a teacher at my alma mater in Collins. So excited to learn from some of the same coaches and teachers. That encouraged me. But yes, education, education was my heart at the time.
Dawn Beam:One thing I want to point out is it's now Dr Dwight Owens, is that right?
Dwight Owens:That's right. I recently graduated with my doctorate in educational leadership. I keep it rolling, I keep it rolling.
Dawn Beam:Well, you know that's important for all of us to remember is that you never stop learning, and education is the key to rising above poverty, and it's just so important that we help folks to understand that. One thing that separates you from a lot of young Mississippians is that they're caught in generational poverty, but they don't have the family that you had, and you were blessed to have a great mother, a grandmother that were solid behind you, and so we need, as Mississippians, to remember that you deal with kids every day. What have you seen out there, with young folks caught up in generational poverty?
Dwight Owens:Well, first of all, when you talk about the family aspect of that, all my family has always been so amazing. So my heart goes out to those that don't have that, because it makes a huge difference, a huge difference. You know, I have a wonderful support system. You know, despite the wheelchair, I'm so blessed. You know, drive everywhere I need to go, have a wonderful wife. We've been married, oh, 17 years now, whoop, whoop, yes.
Dwight Owens:And I was confident, despite being in this wheelchair, paralyzed from the waist down. I'm telling you, I'm telling you, when I saw the woman I wanted to date, I just rolled up to her, I put this wheelchair on park and she became my wife, had a daughter who was born on 12-12-12. And, I think, a daughter's most beautiful gift the world has to offer. But I think, in regards to poverty, it causes so much hopelessness, especially with our young people, because they can't see where they want to be in the future. They're only looking at the now. They can't envision that ahead of them.
Dwight Owens:And that's one of the things that I was able to do when I was young. I was able to see where I want to be and I fought to get there. I see a lot of that today I get more calls now for whether it's elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, I get more calls where a child is contemplating suicide than I've ever had before, ever had before. And these are the type of things that I'm passionate about and I do voluntarily because I love children, I love youth and I love to create a different perspective in that way. But it's sad and a lot of those calls when you get to talk to a student, when you get to discover what led to that you can see, and you get to visit their home, you can see that poverty there, absolutely what led to that you could see and you get to visit their home, you could see that poverty there.
Dawn Beam:Absolutely Hope Rising Mississippi was kind of birthed out of a book by Dr Chan Hellman called Hope Science, and the idea is that tomorrow can be better than today and you can make it so, but you have to have that vision, that goal and that willingness. That's just so important and the schools is a huge opportunity to help build that and you do that every day.
Dwight Owens:Yes, I do and I'm grateful. You know I love our youth, as I said before. So many are looking for answers, looking for the hope that we speak of. It's an opportunity to change a child's perspective and possibly, you know, save a life. I'm in so many high schools each year, so many elementary schools, middle schools alike. I'm grateful for the partnership between the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services and the Mississippi Highway Patrol for creating a prom campaign Please Return on Monday and that's getting ready to start. So we'll be in schools almost daily, coming up. But I'm just grateful. I'm just grateful because when I see a young person and I see that they don't have that hope, it gives me an opportunity to help them move forward with different perspective, a positive perspective, and that means everything to me.
Dawn Beam:Dwight, you just have an incredible story. Would you mind sharing about the accident that landed you in a wheelchair?
Dwight Owens:Sure, on August 5th 2005,. We talked about me being a teacher at Collins High School On August 5th 2005,. It's a day that I'll never forget. On that day, on my way to school, I remember getting a phone call and I remember my mom called me and we were talking about some things. I'm just trying to play that day over in my head. And after I got off the phone call with my mom, I remember traveling down the road to school because my principal wanted us to decorate our doors that day because I was a teacher. So I was like school's going to start that Monday, august 8th. So this is August 2005. I needed to get my door decorated and as a teacher, we did those things. So that's one of the things that I was getting ready to do. But I never made it there On that day, august 5th 2005,.
Dwight Owens:As I prepared to go get my classroom ready for the students to come in that Monday, I was railroaded by a drunk driver, clocked at 120 miles an hour. They found my torso on the floor of the car, my legs wrapped around the steering wheel. Only thing holding me together was a seatbelt. You know, all because of a choice that somebody made that they didn't have to make. They made it. And in that car my body was basically bent and lifeless. As I said, the only thing holding me together was a seatbelt. I coded instantly. We knew what that means. It means my heart stopped. It means I was literally dead in that car.
Dwight Owens:That's an interesting story in itself because after I coded, I remember having all these flashbacks that were so real. I remember being a child again and being on a big wheel and all of this stuff, and then everything stopped. And when everything stopped, I remember seeing this bright light and all of this peace surrounding me and out of nowhere, my dad appeared before me, along with other family members that passed before him. And my dad says, son, everything's going to be okay. And after he said that, he walked away toward an opening in this lit place and he disappeared, not knowing what to do. I decided to follow him. Right before I got there where he was going, I woke in the hospital and I overheard a doctor say we got him back. So that gives me all the joy that I need to continue to move forward, because I knew at that point that my life had purpose.
Dawn Beam:We're talking. Drunk driver made a poor choice, changed your life in an instant. You should just despise that person that did that, but tell us a little bit about your forgiveness process.
Dwight Owens:I wanted to be free. I was in the hospital a year fighting for my life. It was difficult. I hadn't seen the light of day, just fighting for my life, surviving life support, all of that stuff, you know. I sustained several injuries I broke all of my ribs, my liver was found lodged into my chest, I tore both shoulders, sustained liver damage, kidney damage, brain trauma. Couldn't breathe on my own, had to be placed on life support, back was broken, spinal cord severed, leading to paralysis in this wheelchair.
Dwight Owens:But I found out something that a person with no forgiveness in their hearts punishes themselves far worse than anyone else could. And in order to be all that God wants us to be, we have to let things go. You know too many people that we find every day are walking around suffering in silence, and it was vital for me to forgive the guy that not only killed my dad, but forgive the guy that put me in this chair. So for those listening, I just want to let you know that sometimes God can take your deepest pain and turn it into your greatest calling. For me, forgiveness is a must in order for you to move on and be free, and I'm free.
Dawn Beam:You know, and Christ forgave us that same way, didn't he? So if he can forgive us for all that we have done, why not forgive others? That's just a huge message to young people, even today. Okay, dwight, god has gifted you with an incredible talent to go into these schools and talk to our young people, so tell us a little bit about that. You talked about that at springtime and that you do the See you on Monday. Just tell us a little bit about your experience with that, how you got involved in it and how God has used that to be a blessing.
Dwight Owens:After I got out of the hospital I told you I was in the hospital a year fighting for my life. So I came home and my life was just turned upside down. I didn't know what the road ahead would be. You know, I went from being a teacher to now in the hospital, Doctors telling me that I was going to be a vegetable, All of that stuff.
Dwight Owens:Just didn't know at my mom's house at the time, in a hospital bed, and I knew that I wanted more. I knew that I wanted more. So I talked to my pastor at my church to ask if I could volunteer to speak to youth and different stuff like that. And he was all for it, Of course, of course. So at that point of time, coming from being a math teacher, I said you know what I can speak pretty well. I didn't know that. And then after that my principal called me and asked me to speak to the students there and speak to the staff, because they were worried about me. They wanted to know how I was doing. So I went to professional development, I talked to the staff and then I went to talk to the students and after that I started getting calls from schools everywhere. Apparently, the superintendent told other people that you need to get this guy.
Dwight Owens:At that point I created a campaign called Before you Drink, Think Dwight. So after Before you Drink, Think Dwight. Later on I found out about more resources in our state. I found out about the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services and I found out about all of these other agencies that assist people with disabilities. After meeting them, they created that campaign and, as a client of theirs, they invited me on to that particular prom campaign. That's how it started there.
Dawn Beam:And the kids just eat it up. I've seen you in action and it's just amazing how your story just resonates with them. I know that parents so appreciate the message that you bring at the school. You know I'm reminded of another great thing that you do and that is minister to other folks in the disability area. I'm reminded of that Bible verse God comforts us so that we can yet be comforters. Can you tell us a little bit about how that works, the challenges out there? There's very little support for some folks and you really have to think outside the box. But a lot of folks have no idea of the struggle of the disability community. Could you tell us some about that?
Dwight Owens:When it comes to people with disabilities, most people feel like they're trapped in a world that others don't understand. So imagine having something and you go to a restaurant you can't get in. You go to public facilities you can't get in, and things like that, and people feel like they don't belong. A lot of people in public don't really speak to people with disabilities because they're afraid that they're going to offend them instead of just being themselves. When you go to a doctor's office and you have somebody with you, the doctor talks to the person beside you about your condition instead of talking to you. So they feel like they're not seen in public and they feel alone.
Dwight Owens:And loneliness leads to depression, it leads to suicide, it leads to drug and alcohol addiction. It leads to all of those things. So there are so many people with disabilities that's in their own homes and don't come outside and don't engage with the public because people don't pay them any attention. And so that's why I'm super passionate about helping people navigate and find hope and find purpose, because purpose leads to that hope that we speak of, because purpose leads to that hope that we speak of.
Dawn Beam:Well, the truth is, we're all broken people. Some are in wheelchairs, Some their brokenness is in other ways, but we're all broken. One thing, though, that I've had to learn is that when I hug somebody that's a quadriplegic or whatever I'm not going to hurt them. We have a dear friend, Dan Hall, and I used to think, oh my goodness, I can't, I'm afraid to touch Dan. And now I just hug him and kiss him and it's all good. And when you, you realize that just because you're in a chair doesn't mean that you don't have feelings and you can't communicate.
Dwight Owens:Yes, yes, people with disabilities are no different from anybody else. We have goals, we have dreams, we want love, we want all of that stuff. So just be yourself, the same way that you would be with anybody else. Just be yourself. I realize I'm physically paralyzed, I can't walk, no one has the time to deliver it every day, but, as I said before, you can be paralyzed without being in a wheelchair. There's people walking around right now, suffering in silence, paralyzed by fear, paralyzed by drugs and alcohol, paralyzed by a loss of faith and so many other things.
Dawn Beam:And if given a choice, I'd rather stay right here in this wheelchair, and because you are aware of those issues, you and a number of your friends all work together to intervene, to help one another and to connect with resources. Tell us a little bit about that. I know you work for the rehabilitation services, so there's some things that they can do, but we were just talking about a friend that lost his caregiver, so it's everything from a food issue to medicine and mental health and on. So talk a little bit about that, because we want people to find ways they can engage and make a difference.
Dwight Owens:Oh yes, I am a consultant with the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services and they became my bridge to independence in so many ways, and there's so many other resources out there that can help people with disabilities. I'm also an alcohol and prevention specialist with the ARCA Mississippi, so I do a lot in trying to prevent addiction in the disability community because it's so prevalent. People with disabilities are more vulnerable to addiction but less likely to get effective treatment compared to those without disabilities, because when you have autism or IDD and you want to go to a treatment facility, guess what? They don't take you because, especially if your IQ is too low. So therefore you have to sit at home and suffer in silence. So we're trying to work to change policy and create things and give tools so that people with disabilities have that hope. There's so many things out there that can be used. So just one of those people that if you need something or if you're looking for any type of resource, I'll find it for you and we'll do it. I'll make sure. So when I meet somebody that's looking for something in particular, I'm able to help them navigate and find those things, and a lot of times I do that voluntarily.
Dwight Owens:For example, a hospital mission that I have for people with new injuries, I met a girl named Amanda several years back. This really gave me the motivation that I needed to continue doing what I'm doing today. I met Amanda and Amanda was only 22 years of age. Her husband was 23. She was married at the time. She had a new spinal cord injury just broken and I went into Amanda's room and our husband was in the room and he was telling Amanda that when he first met her that he could never envision his life having to take care of somebody for the rest of his life. And I remember that just like it was yesterday. It plays back and forth in my mind in my head of that. Just like it was yesterday it plays back and forth in my mind in my head. When he told Amanda that I could see where the conversation was going. He eventually asked Amanda for a divorce and I could just look at the brokenness in Amanda and I remember talking to her after he left the room and I said, amanda, sometimes you have to leave what you want to find what you deserve.
Dwight Owens:And we made plans to do some things after I left the hospital that day, but I couldn't get her back on the phone, I would call her mom. Her mom didn't know what she was. After she was discharged from the hospital, her mom didn't know anything, and one day, all of a sudden, her mom called me just randomly and said Dwight, I appreciate what you try to do for Amanda, but Amanda was just found dead in a ditch drug overdose. And that really put me on the path that I am right now to make sure that people with disabilities in that community have the hope that they need, because I understand that without it, what it leads to a person not wanting to be here anymore. And so I think about Amanda and she inspires me to continue doing what I'm doing right now just working tirelessly to make sure people in the disability community get what they need to move forward those in the disability community that are oftentimes overlooked, whether it be through politics or whatever.
Dawn Beam:Oftentimes we don't have all of the resources that those in the disability community need, and so it's just so important for people to be wide open their eyes, to be open to that need, and who knows somebody? Listening may be that very blessing that is needed. They may know somebody with a disability and it may touch their heart to reach out to them.
Dwight Owens:It really touches my heart because there's so many people. If you go out into community, you really just look around, you'll see that there are people with disabilities isolated in the community, they're isolated at church, they're isolated in the schools, and one of the things that really broke my heart, especially in the elementary schools, is when you are seeing kids play on the playground and you see that person with a disability on the sidelines watching. Oh that does something to me. It does something to me. Those are the factors and the motivational factors. I need to just continue on this journey.
Dawn Beam:And you know, it's just random acts of kindness that we can show. I'm reminded one of my kids was in high school and he had a friend that was in a wheelchair and my son picked that fella up out of his wheelchair and just put him in the bleachers so that he could be like everybody else. We just need to be open to that and God will provide opportunities to help along the way, which brings me to another question. Look back over your life and just think about those God moments where people helped you along the way because none of us got to where we are on our own.
Dwight Owens:No doubt there are way too many people to count. You know my family. There were doctors who became my friends. One of my favorite people in the world is Dr Duncan Donald from Forest General Hospital. Not only was he my trauma doctor when I was there at Forest General Hospital, but he became a lifelong friend of mine. I never knew that when you get a call, you would automatically think it's the nurse calls. But when a doctor calls and wants to check on you, when a doctor sends you a wedding gift, when a doctor does all of those things, it just means something to you.
Dwight Owens:Mdrs, as I said before, became my bridge to independence. The Arc of Mississippi helped me learn how to advocate for people with disabilities so many to name. So I just want to pay it forward and, you know, make every day count for something. But I have something for people that are listening. We talked about forgiveness, but many times there are people that are, you know, their forgiveness problem is not with other people, it's with themselves. We're our own worst enemies many times. So I want to do something for those that are listening. For those that are listening. It's time to rid ourselves of things that are holding us back, because you can't be the person that God created you to be if you're still stuck on things that happened in your childhood, if you're still stuck with some of those things. So right here, right now, we're going to change that.
Dwight Owens:So, if you're listening, I want you to think about that one thing that made you feel like your life was turned upside down. Has somebody harmed you, wronged you, that thought you were never going to amount to anything? Maybe someone close to you that doubted you. Maybe you were a victim of abuse. Whatever the case may be, maybe you were surrounded by addiction. Maybe you grew up lost, without a parent in your life. Maybe you had a father in your life, but that father showed no signs of affection. So you grew up with a hole in your heart, afraid to give affection, afraid to receive affection. Maybe you're going through a divorce. Whatever your challenge may be, you deserve to live a life that you're excited about. So move on. Move forward and be the person that you were destined to be. It's worth it.
Dawn Beam:That's what hope's all about the idea that tomorrow can be better than today and you can make it so. And too often times we let the past hold us back from the great things that God has planned that trauma of those negative experiences. But God does not want us to be that way. He's got a plan and you got to let go in order to embrace the wonderful things ahead. Let's talk about the importance of collaboration. You do a lot of collaborating in your work, whether it be with the superintendents and educators and connecting there, or whether it be with the disability community. But just talk about when we work with one another and the different talents we all bring to the table.
Dwight Owens:Oh, yes, you know collaboration is so important. It's important for achieving meaningful change. You just have to, no matter what sector you're in, you have to be able to work together, and by working together with others, we can pool our resources, we can share knowledge, and that helps extend our impact. When we come together with a shared vision, we can create an impactful support system for all those that we serve. So collaboration is extremely important.
Dawn Beam:Burden shared is lighter, and that is something that we have to learn to do is to share our thoughts and dreams. Nothing is impossible with God, but two when we work together. I'm reminded I used to play in the band, and it's one thing for me to play on my own, but when I played with that entire band, the music was just phenomenal. That just reminds us we can do so much more when we all work together than we ever could individually. You saw that with your football experience, the idea of a football team working together.
Dwight Owens:Oh yes, most definitely, Most definitely.
Dawn Beam:So if you had one wish for Mississippi, what would it be?
Dwight Owens:had one wish for Mississippi. What would it be If I had one wish? I would wish for a culture of kindness and empathy, where people actively seek to uplift one another. That's what I would wish For those out there.
Dwight Owens:I remember watching ESPN and I remember there was a basketball coach I can't think of her name, but she talked about something that made so much sense to me and she said that life doesn't get any easier. You just get stronger. The harder the life, the stronger and wiser you'll become. The stronger and wiser you'll become, the easier the life will be. So stop worrying about what could go wrong and get excited about what can go right. I believe that God has a plan for all of us and we all have challenges to face. He also gives us the strength and resources to overcome those challenges. There are no guarantees in life and it can change on a dime. All I know is that you have to face things head on, put them in the best possible light and help others every chance you get. Life doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful.
Dawn Beam:Absolutely, Dwight. I love you, brother, and I so appreciate you coming and sharing your story. My hope and prayer is that the right folks hear this and that their lives will be changed because of the hope that you shared today. So thank y'all so much for joining us today with Hope Mississippi. We look forward to another podcast coming up soon. Thanks so much.
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