Lately we have been talking in our office about what it means to “flourish” in life. As luck would have it, my good friend Sadhna Gupta Brown shared a story that encapsulated a spirit of flourishing so well, I asked if I could share it here in our blog post. She graciously agreed.
Sadhna Gupta Brown
This story starts with a twist. As Sadhna’s youngest son prepared to graduate from his local K-8 school, she responded to an email request from the parent’s association, seeking volunteers at the graduation ceremony. She sent a simple response to say she’d be glad to help, imagining she’d be greeting guests or arranging chairs, or some other similar task. Imagine Sadhna’s surprise when she learned that she had unwittingly landed the role of keynote speaker at the graduation!!! Being a good sport, she set to preparing a talk befitting the occasion. With her permission, that keynote address is printed below. I think you’ll agree that Sadhna’s speech reflects a spirit of flourishing, not only in her response to the challenge, but also in the message to the young grads.
“This is the day you’ve been waiting for. You are finally leaving middle school. How are you feeling? Glad you won’t have to share the halls with little kids? Looking forward to being at a new school with sports fields and food options? Nervous about how big it will be? Maybe you’re sad you won’t be in the same class or even the same school as your old friends.
If you have told anyone about your feelings, you may have heard - ‘don’t worry, it’s fine’or ‘you are going to do great.’ The truth is, no one knows what it will be like. You don’t, your friends don’t, your parents don’t. And that might be scary.
Our culture constantly tells you to be positive, work hard and ‘you’ll be successful.’ You’ll hear this for years. I would like to suggest a different mindset.
Embrace the idea of change. Train yourself to be comfortable with it. Think about this moment and your combination of relief, nerves, sadness and excitement, and know that, moving forward, every situation will be in a new setting with new people and new feelings. Accept change. And expect that it will lead you to something unknown.
In high school, a teacher might assign a project on a topic you have never heard of with a partner you don’t like. Or you’ll find yourself sitting at lunch with people whose personalities are nothing like yours.
You might think ‘how am I going to do this work? how do I act around these people? I don’t know what I am doing.’
In those moments I invite you to transform your thoughts into something we rarely talk about.
Wonder. Sit with it. Give yourself a moment to not know what to do. Don’t immediately look for a solution or a distraction. Don’t pick up your phone and search for the answer. Just wonder. Let it be quietly unknown. Then see how your mind and body respond.
It is a big day for you graduates. Take a moment. Soak it in. After this everything is different. Wonder what comes next. Congratulations!”
