A Valuable Lesson

Yesterday in Class 314, we finally came to the last paragraph of Unit 12 "Have a Good Four Years."  I told the students I particularly loved this paragraph, in which Mr. Bok reminded the Harvard freshmen: "...let us remember not to take ourselves too seriously."  At this point, I told the students one way to stay happy was not to focus only on ourselves.  When we "take ourselves too seriously," we think we are very important and should be given careful attention, which usually leads to disappointment and depression.   On the other hand, when we forget our own interest, when we exert ourselves to make the world around better, we don't easily get disappointed because we don't expect anything for ourselves. 

I'm glad that I found Einstein's article "For the Sake of Other Men"  for my students to read.

After that sentence, Mr. Bok continued, "However  great our problems may seem, however urgent our complaints, they are dwarfed by the predicament of countless other people on our planet."  To illustrate this point, I showed them some photos in Time.  The photos depicted the predicament of some human beings.  In one of them, a hospitalized woman cried in extreme agony while a man is holding and comforting her.   I asked the students to guess what happened.  One said the woman was giving birth.  Then I read the description:

"Zahra al Samra, 18, is comforted by her brother after being hurt in an Israeli air strike that killed her mother, her sister and other family members"  (TIME, July 31, 2006, P. 22)

At the word "18," I paused and asked the students how old they were.  They were either 17 or 18.  Could they imagine many people their age are suffering great pain, physically or mentally or  both, in some corners of the world?  My words to them: Stop self-pity.

I admire Mr. Bok for giving these thought-provoking words in his speech.   Those who read it should know better not only how to pursue their college careers but also how to live.