A Message to the
Graduating Class of 2014
Bill Cosby[1]
1.
I am always amazed at how some people can walk
into a room, and people start smiling, even break out into a big laugh, just
because…
2.
I think it is amazing too, how even at a
funeral, people can recall any number of things about the deceased that it
makes so difficult a time easier to bear, because something that the deceased
was best known for, making people smile or laugh, is something that refuses to
allow others to be anything but happy for that person having been in their
lives.
3.
The idea that one person can make another person
smile or laugh just by their presence is truly amazing. But when that one person can stand in front of
dozens of people and make them laugh, it’s awesome. And when that one person can stand in front
of thousands and cause them to break out laughing, that’s talent. A God-given talent.
4. Comedians, Humorists, Funny People
5. I
would like to believe that I grew up in the best of times when I think of some
of the funniest people I have ever heard.
For example: The late Red Skelton;[3]
The late Richard Pryor;[4]
the late Lucille Ball[5];
Carol Burnett;[6]
Tim Conway;[7]
Bill Cosby;[8]
Chris Tucker;[9]
Steve Harvey;[10]
Ellen DeGeneres; the late Bernie Mac;[11]
Cedric the Entertainer,[12]
and far too many more than I wish to list at this time. I am sure I overlooked quite a few others,
count it to my head and not my heart.
For it speaks more to just how many talented people there are out here,
or that once were, who could not just put a smile on your face, but could
honestly make you laugh. The talent pool
is a relatively small one when it comes to some of the greatest comedians whose
talents are without question, awesome. Why
is this important to you as graduates?
6. To
the Graduating Class of 2014, this is important to each of you because many of
these men and women that I have just named, may or may not have graduated from
high school, or even college. It didn’t
matter where they graduated from, but that they had a talent, and by evidence
of their ability to parlay that talent into a means of making a living, says
volumes about their willingness to demonstrate who they were.
7. As
you prepare to move out into the world, each of you should understand that what
you have accomplished as graduates, will carry you only so far. While each of you may make thousands of
dollars, or hopefully, millions of dollars, what you may find yourself often
doing is wondering. Or perhaps, you may
find yourselves being magnetized to a calling that you may have long thought
was not yours to answer. Today, I
encourage you to answer that call.
8. As
in the case of those of you who can make others laugh, there are those among us,
who await for you to step from the graduation stage to the bright lights of the
entertainer’s stage, and touch us with your magic, your warmth, your
effervescent talents, and help make our lives a little better because of your
ability to make us laugh.
Quote: “I met a new girl at a barbecue, very pretty,
a blond I think. I don’t know, her hair was on fire, and all she talked about
was herself. You know these kind of girls: ‘I’m hot. I’m on fire. Me, me, me.’
You know. ‘Help me, put me out.’ Come on, could we talk about me just a little bit?” –Garry Shandling[13]
9. What Makes Us Laugh?
10.
I could call up a clinical answer as to what
makes us laugh, but I don’t want to.
While I think that laughter has a medicinal affect, I don’t think that
many doctors are writing those prescriptions.
The pharmaceutical companies haven’t quite mastered the ability to
bottle laughing gas for the general public, at least legally. Correct me if I am wrong. But the remedy of laughter is
self-directed. We can choose to listen
to someone or something that makes us feel good about ourselves. And we have so many of you to thank for that. Otherwise, we can choose to sit around and
sulk ,and feel sorry for ourselves.
11.
Realistically, we have to be willing to
laugh. I think that we have to, if
nothing else, be willing to laugh, if not smile, at some of the most, simplest
of things in our lives. For example, a
baby who is learning to walk with their duck-like steps, or a baby who
inadvertently laughs, showing their little pink gums. Or maybe, laugh at ourselves when we spend a
lot of time looking for the glasses that are right on top of our heads. And don’t think it’s not funny when we put
that cup of coffee on top of the car and drive all the way to work, only to
find it is still sitting up on top of the car, just as warm as when we left
home.
12.
What makes us laugh, is the willingness to
recognize that everything in our lives is not always serious. We have to loosen up. We have to be just as willing to laugh out
loud (LOL), as we are to raise the blinds on our windows, or throw open the
curtains to let the daylight in, even if it is raining. What makes us laugh, is our willingness to
believe that life is beautiful. That
even on the darkest of days, there is always a chance at a glimmer of
light. And when something great happens
in our lives, we have to not only laugh about it, but be grateful, and share
the excitement, the exhilaration, and of course, the laughter that burst from
within.
13.
Also, what makes us laugh is the fact that we
can make more friends by making others’ laugh rather than by crying; feeling
sorry for ourselves, and finding fault with everything that goes on in our
lives. And when we can’t find a reason
to laugh, and going to a bar to drown out our sorrows is an option that we have
grown tired of, well then, flip to the comedy channel(s). Look for a funny movie on the movie
channels. Or, find that one person in
your life who is best known for making you and just about everyone else feel
good about themselves, because they not only know how to laugh, but know how to
make others laugh as well.
Quote: “Among those whom I like or
admire, I can find no common denominator, but among those whom I love, I can;
all of them make me laugh.”
― W.H. Auden[14]
― W.H. Auden[14]
14. It Is Not an Easy Job
15.
As many of you prepare to graduate, there are
only a select number of you who could go out today and make people laugh. You can bide your time by practicing on the
dog at home whose scratching to get out the back door; your 9 month old baby who not laughing with
you, but at you, or, you can take advantage of this opportunity that you now
have, and put it all on the table.
Present yourself for the big league.
With the talent that you have, to make people laugh, I personally know
that it is no easy job. Many of you have
the ability to make people feel at ease without so much as saying a word, and
then, without saying a word, make people smile and laugh. How do you do it?
Quote-- “Sometimes, I laugh so hard, the tears run down my leg”.
16.
I don’t think that you can teach what you
do. You are so talented. If you have learned anything from your
education, it is how to survive in the world around you. Your education has, for the most part, taught
you the square-root of Pi,[16]
and with that, you can make people smile.
Your education has taught you, that in American history, a man was paid
to lead three ships (The Nina, The Pinta and the Santa Maria)[17]
across the great Atlantic Ocean, searching for a new route to the West Indies,
but here we stand as a result of his discovery.
Surely, there must be a laugh in there somewhere.
17.
Your talent, as someone who is able to make
people laugh, and feel great about who they are, is a talent that should be
honed well beyond your achievement as a graduate. Don’t wait until the feeling overwhelms you
10, 15 or 30 years from now. Don’t wait
until you are discovered at a sweet 16 birthday party, or at the office
Christmas party. Your time is now. You are ready to take your talents to the deepest
corners of the world. For with your
talent, that one talent above all others, it can serve all humanity as the
greatest alternative to the constancy of war and death. With your talent, as someone who can make
others laugh, you may hold the future cure to cancer, because of the medicinal
value that laughter is said to have.[18]
18.
Last but not least, with your ability to make
others laugh, you hold the inspirational key that inspires others to search
deep within themselves and to uncover that gift, that talent that God has given
to them. God gave several of you the
talent to make others laugh, smile, or at best, make others feel good about
themselves. He gave others of you, who
are graduating in 2014, the ability to sing greater than the most beautiful of
song birds. And still, He gave others of
you, in the class of 2014, the ability to lead with confidence those who are in
need of strong leadership on land, in the air, or on the sea.
19. It’s Not Rocket Science
20.
No, it does not require that as a comedian that
you know the sum of the distance between two adjacent lines in a hypotenuse
triangle.[19] Nor, does it require that you be a physicist,[20]
who is able to calculate the number of times a rubber ball will bounce on a
cardboard box before it stops bouncing.
But, making people laugh is an amazing skill set. Not everyone can make someone else laugh as
heartily, or even break into a smile, just by their presence. I am mystified by that talent, because on any
given day, you, as that rare person that you are, can stand before hundreds,
even thousands of people, and make them laugh.
You can make their stomachs hurt, and they enjoy it. You can make tears come to their eyes, and
they are joyous. You can make them
forget whatever is bad going on in their lives, and they will thank you for
it. You are awesome!
21. As I Conclude
22.
As I have often said, the world is waiting for
you. Why? In this case, to make others laugh, to heal
them with your medicinal-like ability, whether with your family-oriented humor,
your dirty jokes, your off-color remarks, or your quick-office wit. Use your talent of humor, or whatever talent
you have been blessed with, because the level of competition is very low when
it comes to doing what you do so naturally, and so well. You don’t need to rush out and compete for
corporate jobs, when people would pay you just to do what you love to do, if
nothing else, just to make them laugh.
You have the talent, you have the know-how. You have the gift.
23.
I should caution too, as you will soon learn,
that you don’t have to do it for the money.
We have often heard it said, that in order to find complete fulfillment
in life, find out what it is that you love to do, and then, find a way to get
paid for it. [21]
24.
From the moment you receive your respective
diplomas, or degrees, the playing field for success just became unlevel. And you, as someone who can make people
laugh, have a tremendous advantage.
Don’t wait another day, this is your moment. As the curtains closes on
this your year of graduation, go out and make people laugh, and laugh, and
laugh.
25.
To the Graduating Class of 2014, many best
wishes, and may you always be able to laugh, out loud.
Quote on love: “ I can’t make you
love me, but I can fill my pantry with your favorite snacks and give you a
weekly stipend of $75.00”
26.
Disclaimer: Information shared on the Coveted Commandment
blog is deemed to be from reliable sources, but not guaranteed. Consult with your respective professional
for counseling. The Coveted Commandment Blog
and the Coveted Commandment © 2014 by Wayne Dan Lewis Sr. If you are looking for a speaker for your group
or meetings, please contact Wayne Lewis at wdlewis8088@gmail.com .
[1]
Brainy Quotes (Bill Cosby)- http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/laughter.html#cGHTsqcRhkdbuS7U.99
[16]
What is the Square Root of Pi- https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071214052427AApXR3u
[21]
Find what you love to do quote- Author Unknown
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