Nearly thirty years ago was the first time that I was ever asked to speak at a high school graduation. I was young then and, at times, prepared my remarks ahead of time, a practice long since abandoned. Quite frankly, if I cannot just stand up and speak off of the top of my head coherently for half an hour or so on a topic then it is likely a topic that I do not know enough about to be speaking on in the first place.
The theme of that commencement address was that one should seek to live one's life in a manner that does not require one's eulogist to lie at the funeral. Simply put, I urged the students to seek to live a life that will leave a tremendous void at one's death--to live a life with meaning.
Our program provides that opportunity. It is natural for one to think of what we do in terms of preserving horses and other livestock. For those on the out side it might not be as easy to see something more important that our program provides--the opportunity to make the lives of other people better.
The opportunity to purchase a brush buster and work tirelessly for hours on end to clear land and create riding trails--the opportunity for an adolescent boy to provide support and encouragement to an older child who has a degree of disability--the opportunity for first rate young women to be role models for little girls--the opportunity to learn from those who know and to teach those who want,and need, to learn...
the opportunity to light a candle.
No comments:
Post a Comment