Screenwriter, producer, composer, director, comic book author, and doer of many other things, Joss Whedon delivered the 2013 Wesleyan commencement address. It’s a good speech. He talks about the contradiction between your body and your mind, and your mind and itself, and “how these contradictions and these tensions are the greatest gift that we have”. He talks about being all of yourself, not just a small part of you, to live fully, and to know that you’re connected to this life and everyone here. What stayed with me is his statement that we don’t pass through life, but life passes through us:

 “You experience it, you interpret it, you act, and then it is different. That happens constantly.”

Whedon further states that wanting to change the world isn’t even an option. It is inevitable. I thought this a pretty powerful statement–one of those that only makes sense when you hear someone else say it. But I agree with him. I also think it’s good to take stock now and then, of yourself, of your surroundings, your position in relation to your goals. Look at life through fresh eyes just like you would when you do rewrites.

Check out his speech below for some context to the above and a valuable life lesson.