Some people drift through their entire lives. They do it one day at a time, one week at a time, one month at a time. It happens so gradually they are unaware of how their lives are slipping away until it's too late.
~ Mary Kay Ash
There are only two ways to live your live. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.
~ Albert Einstein
Raymond. You gotta love him. Great guy, good heart. But what an idiot. You gotta love him.
So I was watching reruns of Everybody Loves Raymond on a rented DVD from VideoEZ after a long day of spring cleaning (which reminds me, why do they call it spring cleaning when it's like winter in most places that celebrate Christmas?), and in this episode Raymond and Robert's mother, Maria, causes Robert's wedding day to be a disaster despite her good intentions. Fortunately, Raymond dissipates the gloom of the groom, bride and room with a humourous yet touching speech that suddenly all the bad didn't matter anymore...And they lived happily ever after. Or so I hope. Gotta borrow season eight to see what happens next.
However, that speech got me thinking about the power words have on us. Words inspire or demoralize, create or destroy, cause wars or bring peace, forge friendships or make bitter enemies. It's amazing how simple words which we take for granted and even abuse sometimes have this ability to shape our thoughts and actions for better or for worst. The great speeches of history for example have changed humanity because of these well-strung and well-delivered or spoken words that touched a great many.
And this led me to decide to post four speeches that I love and that I'd love to share with all of you reading.
And this led me to decide to post four speeches that I love and that I'd love to share with all of you reading.
I Have A Dream
The famous African American civil rights speech given by Martin Luthur King Jr. in 1963 most famous for its line "I have a dream" shall remain in the history books for a long time to come. The first time I listened to the recording of it, it became one of my favourite speeches of all time. I've listened to it three times since. I'm too free, what can I say?
What strikes me is the use of pause, intonation, crescendos, melody, and variation of speed, which when blended with substance charismatic yet influential and deep creates such a heartfelt and inspiring speech that the words reverberates long after the concluding line is over - "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty we are free at last!". Listen to and read the transcript here to feel the energy and magic.
Do Not Work
More recently, famed Teenage Textbook author Adrian Tan gave a speech to the law graduates at the 2008 NTU convocation. Entitled Do Not Work, this speech snowballed into a chain mail of sorts, setting bloggers posting and facebookers facebooking. It seemed that no matter who posted it or where I dug it up on the web, there were always comments - comments from people who were uplifted or touched by it. I'm betting that even some of the grumps and grouches of the web had something good to say about it. I sure did. And I'm a grouch by definition according to my girlfriend. Bah! Humbug!
That said, I wish there was an audio recording of it online (for free of course) though. Would love to listen to that being read. But in any case, you can read the transcript of it here for consolation.
How To Live Before You Die
In 2005, Steve Jobs' convocation speech to the graduates of Stanford University also caught on like wildfire and had people talking about it. It's a beautiful speech. One with beautiful morals similar to the speech given by Adrian Tan. But what's even more beautiful is that you can watch and listen to it live on YouTube. God bless the person who posted it. I've posted the video below for your viewing pleasure.
The Last Lecture - Achieving Your Childhood Dreams
As I saved the best for last, this 1 hour and 16 min video (yes, I also saved the longest for last but don't you just love savouring the best for as long as possible?), is not so much a lecture but rather a prolonged speech in a lecture format (if that makes sense) by Carnegie Mellon University Computer Science Professor Randy Pausch who suffered coincidentally from pancreatic cancer like Steve Jobs previously but unfortunately wasn't as lucky to survive it. But like the convocation speech given by Mr. Jobs, the video is readily online thanks to YouTube. God bless both YouTube and the person who uploaded it.
A real tear jerker, Prof Pausch is a person I admire and his words and lessons I hope to always remember and live by.
In the spirit of Christmas, a toast to you Professor. Rest in peace.
Wishing you all find your meaning in life too and to always have fun doing it.
~K
Hi Kay,
ReplyDelete"I am William Wallace. And I see a whole army of my countrymen, here in defiance of tyranny! You have come to fight as free men. And free man you are! What will you do without freedom? Will you fight?"
"Two thousand against ten?" - the veteran shouted. "No! We will run - and live!"
"Yes!" Wallace shouted back. "Fight and you may die. Run and you will live at least awhile. And dying in your bed many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that for one chance, just one chance, to come back here as young men and tell our enemies that they may take our lives but they will never take
our freedom!"
I agree with you. Men fight with their lives with nothing but the conviction that a great speech gives them. It's not merely the script that matters, it's the intonation and the conviction that comes out with the spoken words that matter :)
Oooohh LP, how did you know? haha
ReplyDeleteBraveheart's one of my favourite movies! Of course history critics would point out the discrepancies of the actual event compared to the movie but I still think the movie was beautiful. Epic.
Somehow passion is infectious.
~K