­­Graduation Day

Off you go into the world. Some of you from high school, some from college. Whatever your chosen journey, the thing you all have in common is the knowledge that the future is uncertain.

And because your elders are bombarding you with good wishes and advice, we just can’t let you go without getting in a few lines of our own.

Here are some gems gathered over the years from a variety of sources, transcribed over time.

 

Spend as little time as possible trying to find yourself. Actually, spend no time at all trying to find yourself. If anything, try to lose yourself. Allow yourself to abandon your fears and all the things that make you self-conscious. Self knowledge will serve you more than being always aware of your faults.

Focus your energy and your love on creating yourself. The person you will be when you are 22 will be different than the person you are now. You at 30 years of age may have completely different interests and skills than you imagine possible today.

By the time you reach the ages your parents are right now, it’s possible that all that you retain of your current self will be the values instilled in you, your faith, and the special qualities that have been nurtured by people around you. Those, and the spirit of your parents’ fondest wishes for you to live an honest life surrounded by friends and family who “get you,” will be with you no matter what.

Be prepared to reinvent yourself from time to time. Your career, your attitudes towards politics and people, your attitude towards material posessions, your lifestyle—all of it might change from time to time, then change again. Be prepared to enjoy the reinvention. Each time!

Let no person tell you who you should be; let no person tell you that you should be different.

Let no person who says they love you try to change you.

Let no person who says they love you try to stop you from continually reinventing yourself.

Emerging from your own private chrysalis into your new self each time, look at yourself in the mirror and smile, knowing, “I love, therefore I am.”

 

Off you go! Best wishes for good fortunes, inner peace, and frequent trips home.