Stanford卒業式 ～ Commencement ceremony speech by Oprah Winfrey

先週末の15日（日）、当地でStanford Univ.の卒業式があった。今年の卒業式のspeechはTVトークショー司会者として有名なOprah Winfrey（経歴はこちら）。以下YouTube貼り付け。スピーチの全文スクリプトはこちら。

30分弱のやや長めのスピーチだったが、要点は以下3つのLessonに集約される。

まずは1番目のLesson。

"So, lesson one, follow your feelings. If it feels right, move forward. If it doesn't feel right, don't do it."

"自らの感情に忠実たれ。正しいと思えば前に進め。違うと思えばそれはするな。"

Oprahのメディアでのキャリアは災害や事故現場のレポータ業から始まった。しかし、名前を変えろとか見てくれが気に入らないとか色々と指摘を受け、また悲惨な思いをしている人々と毎日接しなければならないReporterの仕事にほとほと嫌気がさしてくる。

And after eight months, I lost that job. They said I was too emotional. I was too much. But since they didn't want to pay out the contract, they put me on a talk show in Baltimore. And the moment I sat down on that show, the moment I did, I felt like I'd come home. I realized that TV could be more than just a playground, but a platform for service, for helping other people lift their lives. And the moment I sat down, doing that talk show, it felt like breathing. It felt right. And that's where everything that followed for me began.

そして、結局仕事に馴染めずに8ヶ月後に降板させられる。契約期間がまだ残っていた彼女は、Talk Showへの出演をさせられることに。ここで彼女は天職に出会う。瞬時に、これが自分がなすべき事だと悟る。

"And I got that lesson. When you're doing the work you're meant to do, it feels right and every day is a bonus, regardless of what you're getting paid."

"やりたいと思える仕事をやれている状況は、実際に幾ら貰っているかに関係なく毎日ボーナスを貰っているようなもの。"

"If it doesn't feel right, don't do it. That's the lesson. And that lesson alone will save you, my friends, a lot of grief. Even doubt means don't. This is what I've learned. There are many times when you don't know what to do. When you don't know what to do, get still, get very still, until you do know what to do. "

"違うと思ったらするな。それだけで色々な苦悩を避けることが出来る。やっていることに対する疑問が起きただけでも、それはやらない方がいい。何をしていいか解らなくなることが何度もこれからあると思う。そういう時は、何をなすべきか解るまでとにかくじっとしていた方がいい。"

Get stillであるべきかは議論の余地があろうし、OprahもReporter時代に全力で仕事に打ち込んでいたからこそ次のChanceが開けたのだとは思うが、いずれにしても自らのFeelingに忠実たれ、というのは全くその通りだと思う。

次に2番目のLesson。何かに失敗した時に考えるべきこと。

Now I want to talk a little bit about failings, because nobody's journey is seamless or smooth. We all stumble. We all have setbacks. If things go wrong, you hit a dead end—as you will—it's just life's way of saying time to change course. So, ask every failure—this is what I do with every failure, every crisis, every difficult time—I say, what is this here to teach me? And as soon as you get the lesson, you get to move on. If you really get the lesson, you pass and you don't have to repeat the class. If you don't get the lesson, it shows up wearing another pair of pants—or skirt—to give you some remedial work.

誰しも物事がうまく行かなかったり失敗したりすることがある。何かに失敗したら、それは自分に何を教えようとしているのかを考えるべし、とOprahは説く。続けて、何らかの教訓を得たら、同じ失敗には遭遇しないだろう。然し、教訓を学ばなければ、その失敗は形を変えて再び現れ、自らに改善を迫ってくると説く。これは大変耳が痛い。全くその通りだと思う。

My friend Eckhart Tolle, who's written this wonderful book called A New Earth that's all about letting the awareness of who you are stimulate everything that you do, he puts it like this: He says, don't react against a bad situation; merge with that situation instead. And the solution will arise from the challenge. Because surrendering yourself doesn't mean giving up; it means acting with responsibility.

And what I've found is that difficulties come when you don't pay attention to life's whisper, because life always whispers to you first. And if you ignore the whisper, sooner or later you'll get a scream. Whatever you resist persists. But, if you ask the right question—not why is this happening, but what is this here to teach me?—it puts you in the place and space to get the lesson you need.

要は、悪い状況から逃げるなということに尽きる。正面から向き合って取り組み、教訓を得て自らを改善して行くべしということ。日々を振り返ると、色々と反省点が見えてくる。。。

最後に3番目のLesson。幸福とは何かというテーマ。

"But I think she's also saying, be a part of something. Don't live for yourself alone. This is what I know for sure: In order to be truly happy, you must live along with and you have to stand for something larger than yourself. Because life is a reciprocal exchange. To move forward you have to give back. And to me, that is the greatest lesson of life. To be happy, you have to give something back."

"自分自身だけの為に生きてはならない。真に幸福になる為には、自分自身よりも大きな何かと共に、そしてその何かの為に生きなければならない。人生というのは、相互交換的なものだから。前に進む為には、与えなければならない。幸せになるには、何かを返して行かなければならない。"

I know you know that, because that's a lesson that's woven into the very fabric of this university. It's a lesson that Jane and Leland Stanford got and one they've bequeathed to you. Because all of you know the story of how this great school came to be, how the Stanfords lost their only child to typhoid at the age of 15. They had every right and they had every reason to turn their backs against the world at that time, but instead, they channeled their grief and their pain into an act of grace. Within a year of their son's death, they had made the founding grant for this great school, pledging to do for other people's children what they were not able to do for their own boy.

The lesson here is clear, and that is, if you're hurting, you need to help somebody ease their hurt. If you're in pain, help somebody else's pain. And when you're in a mess, you get yourself out of the mess helping somebody out of theirs. And in the process, you get to become a member of what I call the greatest fellowship of all, the sorority of compassion and the fraternity of service.

15歳で愛する息子を失ったStanford夫妻が、その悲しみを乗り越えて、自らの息子に施してあげられなかった教育を広く施すべくその翌年にこのStanford大学を設立したエピソードを紹介する。そして、自分が辛い時にこそ、他人の辛さを緩和すべく努力すべしと説く。これは行うは極めて難しだろうが、色々と考えさせられる主張である。。

以上まとめると、

• 自らの感情に忠実たれ。
• 失敗から逃げず教訓を得て改善すべし。
• 真の幸福を得るためには人の為に生きよ。

というのがOprahの主張。大変シンプルなメッセージであり、いずれもすっと入って来る。途中やや下品なネタも混ざり、超ざっくばらんとしたOprahのスピーチが楽しい。