On Walking - Commencement 2012

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 πmetaphor 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!