[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
how should I live my life and am i
living the best life that I can these
are questions we have all asked
ourselves and my insights into these
questions are based on the privilege I
have had of teaching students around the
world and they tell me that in studying
material like literature history
philosophy religion that they have
become better people and so by observing
in them this inspiring transformation
awareness awakening this is what I have
learned as the following 10 insights
into how we can each become better
people travel visit another part of your
city your state your province your
territory another part of your country
another country another continent
appreciate all the million ways of
looking at life and the world and place
yourself outside of your comfort zone
learn another language the philosopher
Wittgenstein said the limits of my
language are the limits of my world each
language looks at the world uniquely so
when we speak different languages we
become different people an example I
like to give if you would like to learn
another language find a boyfriend or a
girlfriend
who is a native speaker of that language
but who crucially does not speak a word
of your language read the news read the
news on a daily basis throughout the day
from sources around the world from
sources on all sides of the political
spectrum about the same issue event idea
and or topic read great literature and
great history studies have demonstrated
that reading literature increases our IQ
and also increases our emotional
intelligence it is no accident that in
the 18th century in Western Europe we
see the rise of human rights at the same
time and place that we see the
development of the novel for what both
human rights and the novel enable us to
do is to imagine lives that are
radically different from our own maybe
to empathize with those lives to feel
what that person is feeling to recognize
and accept that there is no person and
no group in this world who is lesser or
greater who has a lesser quantity of
humanity or a greater quantity of
humanity than anybody else and when we
can feel what that person is feeling
when we can place ourselves inside their
shoes of that person that enriches us
and it empowers our ability to help that
person reading history reading great
history teaches us where we come from
and where other people come from we are
each the products of history that
history is alive and we carry the
history of our history to each and every
interaction and so do
they’re people knowing where we come
from knowing where other people come
from helps us understand why we and they
act and react in the ways that they do
and that we do reading literature and
history cultivates our humanity they
teach us reference for each and every
single human life they teach us that
each person takes their life just as
seriously as we do as you do as you do
and as you do the Indian word the Indian
greeting namaste
means I bow to the divinity within you
place yourself in a situation where you
become the majority or the minority this
can be on the basis of many identities
such as ethnicity race gender sexuality
language accent nationality class
religion caste ability disability
observe how the narrative changes
because it will privileges might be
given to you
privileges might be taken away what you
took to be normal natural in some cases
common sense reveals itself to be
cultural social habitual in some cases
ideological and connected to a deeply
embedded system of power that for its
operation requires that we do not
question it and that we do not speak
about it but through its silent
operation
lessons each of our humanity
listen more than you speak listening
very well listening actively allows us
to truly understand other people almost
literally to begin seeing other people
it increases our skills and being able
to closely analyze and observe and
perceive all of the nuances of social
interactions listening very well helps
us have a reverence for the power of
each spoken word so that we choose and
use each word very carefully almost as
if each word were a physical object and
this wise choice this wise usage shows
us that freedom of speech is not freedom
of incivility who better to teach us the
power of the spoken word than the 30th
President of the United States President
Calvin Coolidge was also known as silent
cow there is an anecdote that allegedly
at a dinner party a woman turned to
President Coolidge and said mr.
president I made a bet with a friend
this evening that I could make you say
more than three words President Coolidge
turned to the woman looked at her and
said you lose
and he remained silent the rest of the
evening that’s the important part
having said that we must absolutely
speak up and speak out we must speak up
and speak out when we have something
important to say we must speak up and
speak out when we observe inequality
injustice unfairness wrongdoing we must
see an injustice committed against
somebody else as an injustice committed
against us and against humanity we all
know the expression that evil requires
good people like you and me to do
nothing and say nothing and silence in
one sense is violence
it might be difficult speaking out
speaking up but if we prioritize
emotional comfort not at the cost of but
over the truth then we hinder the
process of education for everyone it
might be difficult but other people are
probably thinking the same thing that
you are thinking so many of the
revolutions of history that have given
us the rights and freedoms and
privileges and opportunities that each
one of us today enjoys began and were
made possible because somebody stood up
stood out spoke up and spoke out it
takes courage but it also develops
courage and it develops leadership so
that people want to be led by us so we
must never forget and you must never
forget the power of your inner
revolutionary and never forget the power
of one see yourself as a citizen of the
world if you are ever feeling sad
anxious depressed lonely overworked
stressed sleepless afraid and we all do
these are all very common make a list to
yourself of the things for which you’re
grateful and there’s something for which
we can each be grateful the gift of life
itself
and after you make this list ask
how would this list be different if I
were based in North America South
America Europe Africa Asia Australia
because it would studies have
demonstrated that this simple act of
making this list increases our health
our happiness and our overall well-being
adopt the practice that gives you quiet
time with yourself a doctor practice
that allows you to look within that
allows you to introspect some people
like to do yoga some people like to
meditate some people like to read some
people like to write some people like to
walk some people like to run and a lot
of people like to sleep but that doesn’t
help adopt a practice that gives you the
chance to become aware of your thoughts
that makes you aware of the physical
sensations of your body and what this
will do is develop a stillness a
calmness and a deep quiet confidence and
a deep quiet trust in yourself so that
you can fully engage with whatever life
presents to you lastly
always ask how can I help other people
what can I do to serve and then take
that action moving from the me to the we
increases our gratitude for life it
shows us that each of our successes is
always enabled by other people and by
our communities so in turn we must build
up other people build up our communities
empathy can be powerful but empathy is
not justice and guilt is not justice
justice is justice the work is difficult
but we must always absolutely believe in
our capability capacity ability goodness
and power to achieve it the Buddha said
believe nothing I say unless you see it
to be true in your own life Eleanor
Roosevelt said that courage is more
exhilarating than fear and in the long
run it is easier Gandhi taught us that
for an entire nation to become free we
as individuals must learn to free
ourselves so that self rule self mastery
self-awareness and self-respect become
the engines that drive and produce the
strength and freedom of the nation
Aristotle Aristotle said that justice is
the highest virtue so if you are
compelled by the vision of becoming the
most virtuous person that you can be if
you are inspired to become the best
person that you can be and if you are
motivated to live the best life that you
can live not for the sake of
self-interest or the temptations of
power and privilege but for the far more
worthwhile lasting fulfilling goal of
great society a just society a good
society filled but love happiness peace
acceptance opportunity and respect for
everyone can I invite you I invite you
to reflect upon these insights and start
taking that action start putting into
motion
that transformation starting right here
[Applause]
you
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
how should I live my life and am i
living the best life that I can these
are questions we have all asked
ourselves and my insights into these
questions are based on the privilege I
have had of teaching students around the
world and they tell me that in studying
material like literature history
philosophy religion that they have
become better people and so by observing
in them this inspiring transformation
awareness awakening this is what I have
learned as the following 10 insights
into how we can each become better
people travel visit another part of your
city your state your province your
territory another part of your country
another country another continent
appreciate all the million ways of
looking at life and the world and place
yourself outside of your comfort zone
learn another language the philosopher
Wittgenstein said the limits of my
language are the limits of my world each
language looks at the world uniquely so
when we speak different languages we
become different people an example I
like to give if you would like to learn
another language find a boyfriend or a
girlfriend
who is a native speaker of that language
but who crucially does not speak a word
of your language read the news read the
news on a daily basis throughout the day
from sources around the world from
sources on all sides of the political
spectrum about the same issue event idea
and or topic read great literature and
great history studies have demonstrated
that reading literature increases our IQ
and also increases our emotional
intelligence it is no accident that in
the 18th century in Western Europe we
see the rise of human rights at the same
time and place that we see the
development of the novel for what both
human rights and the novel enable us to
do is to imagine lives that are
radically different from our own maybe
to empathize with those lives to feel
what that person is feeling to recognize
and accept that there is no person and
no group in this world who is lesser or
greater who has a lesser quantity of
humanity or a greater quantity of
humanity than anybody else and when we
can feel what that person is feeling
when we can place ourselves inside their
shoes of that person that enriches us
and it empowers our ability to help that
person reading history reading great
history teaches us where we come from
and where other people come from we are
each the products of history that
history is alive and we carry the
history of our history to each and every
interaction and so do
they’re people knowing where we come
from knowing where other people come
from helps us understand why we and they
act and react in the ways that they do
and that we do reading literature and
history cultivates our humanity they
teach us reference for each and every
single human life they teach us that
each person takes their life just as
seriously as we do as you do as you do
and as you do the Indian word the Indian
greeting namaste
means I bow to the divinity within you
place yourself in a situation where you
become the majority or the minority this
can be on the basis of many identities
such as ethnicity race gender sexuality
language accent nationality class
religion caste ability disability
observe how the narrative changes
because it will privileges might be
given to you
privileges might be taken away what you
took to be normal natural in some cases
common sense reveals itself to be
cultural social habitual in some cases
ideological and connected to a deeply
embedded system of power that for its
operation requires that we do not
question it and that we do not speak
about it but through its silent
operation
lessons each of our humanity
listen more than you speak listening
very well listening actively allows us
to truly understand other people almost
literally to begin seeing other people
it increases our skills and being able
to closely analyze and observe and
perceive all of the nuances of social
interactions listening very well helps
us have a reverence for the power of
each spoken word so that we choose and
use each word very carefully almost as
if each word were a physical object and
this wise choice this wise usage shows
us that freedom of speech is not freedom
of incivility who better to teach us the
power of the spoken word than the 30th
President of the United States President
Calvin Coolidge was also known as silent
cow there is an anecdote that allegedly
at a dinner party a woman turned to
President Coolidge and said mr.
president I made a bet with a friend
this evening that I could make you say
more than three words President Coolidge
turned to the woman looked at her and
said you lose
and he remained silent the rest of the
evening that’s the important part
having said that we must absolutely
speak up and speak out we must speak up
and speak out when we have something
important to say we must speak up and
speak out when we observe inequality
injustice unfairness wrongdoing we must
see an injustice committed against
somebody else as an injustice committed
against us and against humanity we all
know the expression that evil requires
good people like you and me to do
nothing and say nothing and silence in
one sense is violence
it might be difficult speaking out
speaking up but if we prioritize
emotional comfort not at the cost of but
over the truth then we hinder the
process of education for everyone it
might be difficult but other people are
probably thinking the same thing that
you are thinking so many of the
revolutions of history that have given
us the rights and freedoms and
privileges and opportunities that each
one of us today enjoys began and were
made possible because somebody stood up
stood out spoke up and spoke out it
takes courage but it also develops
courage and it develops leadership so
that people want to be led by us so we
must never forget and you must never
forget the power of your inner
revolutionary and never forget the power
of one see yourself as a citizen of the
world if you are ever feeling sad
anxious depressed lonely overworked
stressed sleepless afraid and we all do
these are all very common make a list to
yourself of the things for which you’re
grateful and there’s something for which
we can each be grateful the gift of life
itself
and after you make this list ask
how would this list be different if I
were based in North America South
America Europe Africa Asia Australia
because it would studies have
demonstrated that this simple act of
making this list increases our health
our happiness and our overall well-being
adopt the practice that gives you quiet
time with yourself a doctor practice
that allows you to look within that
allows you to introspect some people
like to do yoga some people like to
meditate some people like to read some
people like to write some people like to
walk some people like to run and a lot
of people like to sleep but that doesn’t
help adopt a practice that gives you the
chance to become aware of your thoughts
that makes you aware of the physical
sensations of your body and what this
will do is develop a stillness a
calmness and a deep quiet confidence and
a deep quiet trust in yourself so that
you can fully engage with whatever life
presents to you lastly
always ask how can I help other people
what can I do to serve and then take
that action moving from the me to the we
increases our gratitude for life it
shows us that each of our successes is
always enabled by other people and by
our communities so in turn we must build
up other people build up our communities
empathy can be powerful but empathy is
not justice and guilt is not justice
justice is justice the work is difficult
but we must always absolutely believe in
our capability capacity ability goodness
and power to achieve it the Buddha said
believe nothing I say unless you see it
to be true in your own life Eleanor
Roosevelt said that courage is more
exhilarating than fear and in the long
run it is easier Gandhi taught us that
for an entire nation to become free we
as individuals must learn to free
ourselves so that self rule self mastery
self-awareness and self-respect become
the engines that drive and produce the
strength and freedom of the nation
Aristotle Aristotle said that justice is
the highest virtue so if you are
compelled by the vision of becoming the
most virtuous person that you can be if
you are inspired to become the best
person that you can be and if you are
motivated to live the best life that you
can live not for the sake of
self-interest or the temptations of
power and privilege but for the far more
worthwhile lasting fulfilling goal of
great society a just society a good
society filled but love happiness peace
acceptance opportunity and respect for
everyone can I invite you I invite you
to reflect upon these insights and start
taking that action start putting into
motion
that transformation starting right here
[Applause]
you
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