Commencement Address – 2012
Welcome students, families, faculty
and staff and the Board of Trustees.
Each of you should be proud to have
arrived here today. You’ve successfully navigated the challenges given to you
at this highly rigorous and prestigious institution and you’ve done so with
grace and with dignity. You have been and are surrounded by so many who love
and care for you, all of whom are proud of you not because they have something
to gain by your successes, but because we all do. By becoming the person you
are, the world has become a better place to live.
And that, in the end, is the thing
that matters beyond all else. Your paths will diverge but it is my hope that
each of your walks through life is imbued with the intention to broaden
understanding, develop a strong commitment to citizenship, and to bring people
together toward a common good. As you saunter through life, embrace each
success and failure -- learn from them – they make you who you are.
In his essay, “Walking”, Henry
David Thoreau discusses the etymology of the word ‘saunter’. In the middle
ages, he points out, pilgrims who were preparing to embark on a journey to the
Holy Land (Sainte Terre) were called “Sainte Terrers”.
To saunter, then, is not to wander
aimlessly, but to walk with a sense of purpose – to be a pilgrim on a journey
of discovery and enlightenment. There were many pathways toward the Holy Land
and many relics to encounter along the way, but no matter how the particular
journeys varied, the central unifying motivation that these “Sainte Terrers”
had was to become more holy and closer to God.
It took resources to make these
journeys, so in order to prepare, communities provided support, monetarily and
otherwise. Look around you. Countless individuals here and elsewhere have
supported you in countless ways as you’ve prepared for this day. Be sure to
thank them. And while you may not fully appreciate all that you’ve been given,
I assure you, upon reflection in years hence, you’ll be overwhelmed with
gratitude for their assistance.
Thoreau walked a great deal, mostly
avoiding well-worn roads, rarely making the same journey twice. He believed
that his own particular travels broadened and deepened his understanding of the
world. Instead of only following roads created for practical purposes, his meanderings
served a higher calling. He wrote:
"We saunter
toward the Holy Land, till one day the sun shall shine more brightly than ever
he has done, shall perchance shine into our minds and hearts, and light up our
whole lives with a great awakening light, as warm and serene and golden as on a
bankside in autumn".
Take time to focus on where you put
your feet and see what actually surrounds you; be present and awake in your
journey. Moving through life in an illusion of someone else’s making makes you
less of yourselves and less able to make the necessary choices to live full and
complete lives.
So, become disillusioned. This is necessary
in living a life of purpose and in truth. When you live your lives in pursuit
of what is real rather than imagined you truly grow. When you act with faith
and with courage that your own choices are good for you, your family, and your
friends, you will indeed make a difference.
At Casady, the walk around the lake
is a Ï€metaphor for your growth as human beings and since you’ve now completed
that walk, you must continue it, although in brand new surroundings and with
acquaintances unknown.
Walk with purpose, but be sure to
take the opportunities to diverge and veer when they arise – with the right
mindset, those divergences will reap great rewards for you. You have much to be
proud of and I wish you well each and every day of your lives.
Congratulations!
