George Saunders is an American writer and winner of the Man Booker Prize for Fiction for his novel Lincoln in the Bardo. His commencement speech to the 2013 graduates at Syracuse University is an ode to kindness.
It’s one of the finest pieces of elocution I’ve come across in many years. The weight of this marvelous piece is carried in these words . . .
. . . as we get older, we come to see how useless it is to be selfish — how illogical, really. We come to love other people and are thereby counter-instructed in our own centrality. We get our butts kicked by real life, and people come to our defense, and help us, and we learn that we’re not separate, and don’t want to be. We see people near and dear to us dropping away, and are gradually convinced that maybe we too will drop away (someday, a long time from now). Most people, as they age, become less selfish and more loving. I think this is true. The great Syracuse poet, Hayden Carruth, said, in a poem written near the end of his life, that he was “mostly Love, now.”
And so, a prediction, and my heartfelt wish for you: as you get older, your self will diminish and you will grow in love. YOU will gradually be replaced by LOVE.
It’s a wonderful speech, not too long, and available here. Seriously, take six minutes and at least read it.
This brings me to two simple questions.
- What is the kindest thing someone has done for you this week?
- What is the kindest thing you have done for someone this week?
If the answers don’t come immediately to mind, may I humbly suggest you’ve got work to do.