Third generation screenwriter Joss Whedon has a cult following for many, if not all his works (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse…the list goes on).
A master storyteller at his prime, he gave a commencement speech to the graduates of his alma mater Wesleyan last week. He finished by talking about how the students will change the future – how we all change the future.
“So here’s the thing about changing the world. It turns out that’s not even the question, because you don’t have a choice. You are going to change the world, because that is actually what the world is. You do not pass through this life, it passes through you. You experience it, you interpret it, you act, and then it is different. That happens constantly. You are changing the world. You always have been, and now, it becomes real on a level that it hasn’t been before. And that’s why I’ve been talking only about you and the tension within you, because you are — not in a clichéd sense, but in a weirdly literal sense — the future.
… you’re going to be the present. You will be the broken world and the act of changing it, in a way that you haven’t been before. You will be so many things, and the one thing that I wish I’d known and want to say is, don’t just be yourself. Be all of yourselves. Don’t just live. Be that other thing connected to death. Be life. Live all of your life. Understand it, see it, appreciate it. And have fun.”
To hear video clip of his speech or read more of it, check out Maria Popova’s article in Brain Pickings.
His view of the future pulls me, not just because he’s Joss Whedon, but because I like the mystical concept of being one with the future, the past and the present, a porous self through which they all flow and manifest.
Anyway…I liked what he said so I thought I’d post it.
How about you? If you were to give a big commencement speech tomorrow to starry eyed young people, what would you tell them about changing the world?
As cliched as it may be I’d focus on:
- being themselves (the no one else can do it better theme) emphasizing the need we have for authentic individualized people.
- they’re not in this alone. We’re all struggling just as much as they are and when we work together great things happen.
- make extending beyond what’s comfortable for them a habit. Great things lie beyond.
- keeping open hearts. We see best through them.
Your turn.
Hey, Jo-Ann, just getting tuned in. Had to finish line edits and get them returned. Will probably have another set to do, too. Well, I love this post. Your 4 points are excellent. I love that you could limit it to 4. I especially like # 2 about the working together. It’s terribly exciting when people put their best ideas together and meld them into something better than any of the single ideas alone. # 3 is really hard for me though I’ve actually done it fairly often. Running for the school board. Writing a book. To name two. I guess if I were allowed to add something, it would be the importance of being a life-long learner. We never know it all. There’s always another level to stretch to. Thanks for an, as usual, thought provoking post.
Hi Marsha
Got you out of the edit cave again! Thanks for stopping by and sharing in the conversation.
I love your life-long learner idea. We’re good examples of that starting new careers later in life.
So glad you liked the post.
Best Wishes
Jo-Ann
Jo-Ann, thank you for posting part of Joss Whedon’s speech. I love your points. It’s too bad we didn’t know these things when we were young (younger?).
Stephanie
So true. There’s nothing like hindsight.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Best
Jo-Ann
Reblogged this on Clover Autrey ~~~ writer.
Autrey
Thanks for reblogging (I think). I’m not sure how this works. I’ll check out your sight.
Best
Jo-Ann
Hey, Jo-Ann. Clover is in my RWA chapter. I don’t generally read her genre, but the way she strings words together is magical. And I met Stephanie through the GEM State blog. I’m reading her book, SUGARWATER RANCH. Think you’d like it.
Hi Marsha
Thanks for letting me know. There seems to be a lot of good writers in Texas! I’ll check out her book. Thanks for stopping by.
Best
Jo-Ann
Thanks for sharing this, Jo-Ann! Very thought provoking. And the part where Joss Whedon said, “…you act, and then it is different. That happens constantly. You are changing the world” really got me thinking. I so often focus on the big changes — aiming for them, obsessing about them, putting all my effort into them. But what about the little changes — the small things we do day to day, minute to minute that change the world? That change us? And that change the stories we are writing? As the saying goes, “God (or the Devil) is in the details.”
Jacqui
I love your eureka moment, and I so agree with what you’re saying. The (fill in the blank) is in the details, in each moment of our lives. Kind of gives me chills.
Thanks for stopping by and adding to the conversation.
Best
Jo-Ann