The Speech No One Asked Me to Give

Ahhh Graduation.... what would I say if someone asked me to be the guest speaker at a commencement? Lot's of things, but lets just pretend I got invited and see what the speech would look like.....

Thank you for the invitation to speak to the class of 2009, it is my honor and my privilege to share in this joyous event. As the world becomes more and more intertwined by technology, it often feels our lives are one long and connected event - which can be a good or a bad thing depending on the moment. On the positive side, this hyper-connection means that we feel and know the suffering and pain of people on the other side of the world and we feel united as humanity when tragedy strikes. Sometimes, however, to be a part of a connected and instant world means losing perspective of our own markers in life that should have their own rituals and rights of passage. Graduation is one of those lost moments. Instead of spending time really appreciating and contemplating the weight of the occasion, we open presents, eat cake, and answer questions about what happens next. There is no time provided: to look back, to gather and organize the wisdom and lessons we have rightfully earned, to discern not just where you want to go but who you want to become relationally and spiritually in your future. I am sure that someone gave you a little time to think about where you were going in a geographical and occupational sense... but did anyone ever ask you: What does success look like for you, and how will you know when you have arrived there? What is your bigger mission in life? Do you know who and what you believe in and hold onto in crisis? What one problem in the world upsets you most and what are you going to do about it? How are you planning to stay connected to the people and spiritual forces that keep your soul fed? Here's the hard part about those questions.... they aren't written down anywhere, everyone's are different so you can't copy, and the answers will change for you several times over the course of your life. I don't have the answers to YOUR questions, but I can tell you what some of the answers to my own questions have been for me - think of it as the movie version of your favorite book: not exactly the same, not nearly as good, but better than never having seen or read it at all. Here is what I know about the world in my personal movie version....

1) Anyone who tells you the best time of your life happens before college graduation is either lying to you, forgot what those years were really like, or trapped by faded glory.
- High School years are NOT the best years of your life. It is a wonderful time of self discovery and new experiences, but it also the time of: conform or pay the price for identity, awkward looks and bodies that are in a tug of war between childhood and adulthood, hormones, pimples and peer pressure. We don't love High School, we survive it in an attempt to discover what we are passionate about and to earn the right to leave our parents home in exchange for freedom. I welcome you to hold onto your fond memories of HS and the lessons and relationships that were gathered there.... but I promise there are even better times ahead.
- College is also NOT the best time of your life. I loved college, and got a fair amount of wisdom out of it, but college is spent preparing you for a career, not for a life. I look back on my college years and can see that I spent a lot of time and thought on the state of the world and my future role in that world, but I still didn't know who I was in a larger sense and until we know who we are,m we can never know how we fit into the world. I can see that I was connected to earthly things like friends and fun, but I lost my relationship with the Spiritual force in the world, that thing that gives us inner peace and a sense of purpose beyond declaring a major.
- The best times will always lie in front of you. We are constantly discovering our own identity and passions, deepening and discarding relationships, wrestling with our faith and our calling - and every time we find a truth about ourselves we make the rest of our walk a little easier and life gets a little better until we arrive at the end and see only peace in front of us and a life well-lived on the road behind us.

(Ok, that's enough of the speech for today. Did I mention my fake-invitation was for a 6 hour commencement!)