I stood at a tree, with cameras in hand, taking photos of the commencement at Darlington School. It was a beautiful day, a picturesque setting with tears from the families and cheers from the grads. I focused, snapped snapshots and captured memories of people and many faces from all over the world. Grandparents, siblings, cousins, parents and friends all came to observe and rejoice the graduate’s success. I observed the expressions of the crowd, while listening to the commencement address given by Raymond Murray a distinctive and well loved English teacher. His words were not only genuine, they were actual and absolutely bona fide factual. He quoted speakers and authors such as Emerson, Shakespeare, Disraeli and even Albert Schweitzer (the great doctor and Nobel Prize winner). The common denominator is simply the word, think. Murray spoke of Albert Schweitzer was being interviewed and was asked, “What is the matter with people today?” He was silent for a moment and then he said, “People don’t think!” Other quotes such as; Buddha: All we are is what we think about. Emerson: A man is what he thinks of all day long. William James: The greatest discovery of my generation is that people can alter their lives by altering their attitudes and their states of mind. George Bernard Shaw: People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get ahead in this world are those who if they don’t like the circumstances they find themselves in, they make new ones. William Shakespeare: Nothing is either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.
Murray concluded with these words. “As you commence – and please remember that word means to begin – remember two important things I learned. First, you are going to be very much more in charge of your life than you ever have been, and it’s your life. Don’t forget that. It’s not your parents’ life, or your grandparents’ life, or your boyfriend’s or girlfriend’s. It is yours – literally. You must make critical decisions about how you live it. And you have to be responsible and mature about the impact of your decisions on the lives of those around you. It is especially important because YOU will be responsible and accountable for those decisions – no one else. YOU own your successes and your failures – no one else. There will be no one to check to see if you are awake, or get you to class, or to monitor your academic progress. You are going where there are no work details, no detentions, and no suspensions. There is jail! And that’s the reality. Trust your instincts to make good decisions in the future. Don’t expect to get every decisions right; no one does. We’ve all made a few bad decisions along the way. And remember it is perfectly acceptable to ask for help. Sure it’s your life and trust yourself but remember those who care for and love you will always have a supporting hand held out for you, and it is OK to hold it sometimes.”
Reaching a broad spectrum of listeners, I think he achieved a home run, a touch-down and even a golden goal.
Focusing my camera on his face, hearing his commencement address, and feeling his sincerity, was like the picture I produced that day, real. His words are heavy on my heart now as I am preparing for my first son, to commence – graduate, leave home. I pray we have prepared him enough for what lies ahead. To think, trust, to be responsible, believe, have faith and above all, not to worry. Keep calm and happy. One more thing I hope he remembers, not to let small stuff frustrate him. I will hold his picture close to me and let him spread his wings and fly.
