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I was granted the honour to deliver a commencement address to a group of S6 graduates this month. It was not easy to give a short speech with sufficient weight and genuineness.
To the young men and women today, challenges they face are bigger than ours when we were young. I gave them 3 Rs which reflected my expectation and blessing.
1. Restart
Our new generation receives tons of pressure from the society. Some say that the ethos of “Under the Lion Rock” is outdated. More pay for more work is no longer true. But the truth is, failures and difficulties are ingredients of life.
This week, teacher Ada Tsang has become the first Hong Kong lady to conquer the world’s highest peak of 8848-metre at the third attempt. The past two attempts at 2014 and 2015 were forced to a halt by avalanche and earthquake that killed many climbers and left Tsang with bone fractures. What motivates Ada to restart again is to set an outside classroom example to students. Years of perseverance to achieve her goal inspires students to conquer the frustration of failure, heading to their dreams step by step.
The greatest American inventor, Thomas Edison was told by his teacher that he was "too stupid to learn anything." He was fired from his first two jobs as he was graded non-productive. He finally invented the light bulb after numerous tries. When a reporter asked how he felt when he failed for 1,000 times, Edison replied, "I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps."
Focus on our goal with passion and never give up. This is the path to our dreams and happiness.
2. Respect
Mutual respect is gradually diluted by individualistic ideology and self-centeredness today. Some may adhere to their own ideals and principles, thus unwilling to co-operate with others. Some may achieve their purpose through unscrupulous means. Evil ones may employ power and violence, plundering others' lives and freedom.
As we are all created by God, each single individual is special regardless of rich or poor, clever or dull. We are all precious with distinguished identity.
Every morning, I say good day when I meet the security guards of my estate. I also sincerely give simple thanks to the restaurant waiters, tunnel cashiers as well as the janitors. Some people say that these are their jobs and they are paid for it. I feel sad when I overheard the same attitude from students of an elite school.
Respect for others means not only to restrain ourselves from hurting others, but also to truly appreciate and be grateful to others (especially parents and family) for what they have done for us, to learn from different people and cultures. The world is very beautiful. It will become better with mutual aid, respect and appreciation.
3. Reconnect
The world today is very different from that when we were young. We wrote letters in the old days and longed for reply. Now we use WhatsApp, emoji and Instagram. Young people prefer using mobile devices to communicate rather than talking face to face. Gradually, our social life circle shrinks and interpersonal skills are lost.
I am sure sooner or later our living will be full of fast and convenient gadgets such as VR. But the real world is composed of flesh and blood, love and hatred. We should make choice wisely, using all our given senses to explore the creation of this world.
Last week, my daughter felt distress when she was unable to pick up some used plastic bottles found along the track when we hiked. She urged me to prepare a big garbage bag the next time. Fragrance from wild flowers makes us happy and relaxed. Laughter with friends together brings us joy. Seeing the nature being destructed brings sadness. These feelings in touch of the reality can only be experienced when we leave the screens, no matter big or small ones.
The world looks big, only when we stand on the mountain top. The wisdom of life can only be sought when we face temptations and confrontations of real life with bravery. We then can understand and judge ourselves accurately.
Many of my former schoolmates and college alumni become my lifelong friends today. Some of them even become my children's mentors. The memorable fraternal tie after graduation, together with the same faith and years of church life, leads to invaluable brotherly love. Thus the best blessing for all graduating students is to possess precious friendship.
Even you may not remember what my speech is, the wisdom from Seneca, the ancient Roman philosopher may help you, “Life's like a play: it's not the length, but the excellence of the acting that matters.”
Servant pastor
Rev. Benedict Shum
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