33 Comments
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Rebecca Spivack's avatar

Thank you Anand for lifting me up and making me even happier that I recently subscribed to the ink! Your perspective and capaciousness of mind and heart fill me with renewed resolve. What gift of wisdom delivered with humility and love and hopefulness. Restating and reshaping our American values, humanistic values, a must. Wishing you an enormous bull horn. This is a brilliant speech.

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Stephanie Sunshine's avatar

Wish every high school graduate could read this!

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HealthHertz's avatar

Thank you for sharing this again. Can’t tell you how often I have thought about it over the past two years. So many things. That line about honing a craft for a living has, specifically, stayed with me. And you evoke the promise and beauty of America better, for me, than anyone. Thank you 🙏

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Jill Bamburg's avatar

This is brilliant, Anand. Thank you for it. I intend to share it far and wide. Keep up the good work!

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Iris Lamb's avatar

Advice for the ages. I'm using some of your metaphors on current protest/rally signs!

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Gail Yeo's avatar

It’s so inspiring for those of us who have long passed the beginning. It helps remind us that there needs to be new rules written by the youth and we need to make space for them even when we don’t understand what the new rules are!! Thank you for sharing again!! 🥰

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Steffany's avatar

So true!

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Gayle Charlack's avatar

I laughed. I cried. Excellent

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pnina bright's avatar

Sending this to my college-graduating grandchild.

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Susan Jenczka's avatar

Thank you for the inspiration to be alert today - The following come from "paying attention"

"The question for a culture that now measures itself in nanoseconds rather than years is: what things can't be rushed by rushing in them? Or as James Thurber put it: 'Humans are flying too fast for a world that is round. Soo we will catch up with ourselves in a great rear-end collision and we will never know that what hit us from behind was ourselves.'" JC OSB

This awareness then reminded me of a great tune from Simon and Garfunkel - The 59th Street Bridge Song. (sometimes called Feeling' Groovy!)

It takes a lot of Slow to Grow!

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Christiana’s Progress's avatar

Thanks for that Anand, well said! I love your patriotism: both clear- eyed and hopeful for the full realization of our ideals. It isn’t easy now and never was easy. We had a civil war, for god’s sake. I feel like America is in the fight of its life now though, with the fate of the world resting on this fight indirectly. Now is not the time to give up. God bless the young people, graduating in all this. But there has never been a trouble free time to be alive.

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Uma Krishnaswami's avatar

Anand, you’re a Sidwell Friends kid! My son went to another Friends school in the DC area through elementary school and it was a formative experience for him. We’d go out on field trips and astonish everyone around by starting with a shared moment of silence—20 restless 8-year-old bodies miraculously stilled. Thank you for sharing this address. So many great takeaways.

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Steffany's avatar

Oh this is WONDERFUL and needs to be widely heard. Thank you for making the start of my day and my long life’s work feel renewed in its importance.

You do write really really fine sentences. Ones that speak powerfully of truth. Thank you for developing your craft and sharing it with the world.

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Jan's avatar

I’m sharing with my Grandson who graduated at the end of Covid-he did 1/2 his Jr year and his senior year in of High School Doing his Classes on Computer /Advanced Placement classes .Graduated Cum Laude .

He was disconnected from social life of high school .Your Address is a Spin on a Challenging Situation .

Many of these young adults are struggling with Post Traumatic Events of Covid isolation .

Thank you for your Thoughtful Comments 😉👍🏼💪🇺🇸🇨🇦✅🗽🥹

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roxstyle's avatar

Thank you Anand, you are a credit to your craft, and motivational to “us” masses in your words and voice.

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Michelle Gerardo's avatar

Beautifully written and so inspiring!

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Eugene Blake's avatar

I read it like it was written for me. And I’m retired. But still working at my craft.

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