Class of 2022

Every year, around this time a batch of students graduate and the whole community goes through the process of bidding "good-byes" and "see yous". It is indeed a day of mixed emotions as achievements are celebrated and the reality of parting of ways (but hopefully not of friendships) sets in. Every year, I walk the down the line to congratulate the graduates and wish them knowing fully well that some I will never meet again, at least in this life, though bits of news may make through now and then. A few hours ago today, we went through this whole process and finished off the academic year. Some are now back home, safe and sound, others travelling still; some are going back home with much joy to loved ones, some are going back with a heavy heart having lost loved ones in the near past. However, whatever may be the case, this fact remains "the journey is done and God has seen us through" and this is worth honouring. As such, as an old timer I write for these friends who are now preparing for the next round of a new journey. And this I write, having learned from those before me and one day I hope you add the wisdom you gain through your many varied experiences and pass it on.

Stay a little hungry. Much like how actual hunger makes us yearn for food, staying a little hungry "intellectually" keeps us yearning to learn a little more. Yes, we need the confidence that we have learned, but we also need the humility that acknowledges there is a bigger store of learning out there. We may graduate from an institution, but learning will always continue as long as we know where to look for it. Wisdom is not a package that arrives overnight wholesale, rather it is gathered steadily into the store over the process of life. Yes, in line with Pepsi, "yeh dil maange more." Stay a little hungry, keep learning, be a fresh water stream teeming with fresh thoughts and insights, not a dead sea of knowledge.

Stay a little foolish. Nobody wants to be a fool and rightly so. We all aspire to be sensible and knowledgeable and that is a good thing. But again, do not become opinionated, so stiff as to always make others bend to your will. Stay a little foolish, do not feel the burden to know everything, to be a master on all matters. Learn to listen and to listen well. Ask questions. Think through before speaking. Stay a little foolish, consider that someone knows better than you (and there is always some one and more), that you do not need to always be the final say.

Pay it forward. Life is about giving and receiving. When we give so that we may receive, the joy of giving is diminished. But when we give because much has been given to us, the joy of giving is at its best. In your own capacity and as opportunity arises, look out for how you might pay it forward. I believe much has been given to you: think of that financial help you received, the words of encouragements that came to you, the time someone gave up to sit down with you, the prayers that have been offered for you. Yes, much has been received. Pay it forward.

Be the solution. We live in an age where more than ever before we can express our thoughts, thanks to social media. However, as you share them, be the solution not the one adding fuel to the fire. No place is perfect, no ministry is without challenges. Be among those who when faced with such realities, will rise above the popular chant of the masses to point others to the solution and set the right path for others to follow. Wallowing in the mud only splashes it further.

Love people. Ultimately for those of us in this line of work, people are everything. All the strategies, creativity and activities are not ends in themselves but means to build relationships. Love your job, love what you do but above all love the people for whom and with whom you work. Remember, the goal of our job is eventually people, not strategies. Love the people and you will see how this might help you strategies better. Leave out the people, and you might find a strategy that seems brilliant but without a human touch. At all cost, love people.

Love the Word. Finally love the Word for this is the content of everything that we do and speak. Love the Word, it will sustain you and nourish you and this in turn will bring life to the work you do. Love the Word, may it be the foundation you stand on, the roof that shades you and the walls that protect you. In your time of loneliness, may you find your home there. 

In his poem Ulysses, Lord Alfred Tennyson pens these lines, 

                                All experience is an arch 

                                Wherethrough gleams that untravelled world whose margin fades 

                                Forever and ever when I move." 

These lines paints a beautiful imagery of all the experiences that we have gained as merely the gateway to a whole store of new adventures. The poem closes with these lines expressing determination and also fortitude,

                                One equal temper of heroic hearts

                                Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will

                                To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

One of the realities of life is this: we will all grow weaker physically, we will not become any younger. However, in the spirit of the lines quoted above, may we be never found wanting in will and courage. 

Class of 2022 the journey here is done and as you begin a new one, farewell and Godspeed!